Glycolipids articles from across Nature Portfolio

Mycobacteria have a unique cell envelope that includes characteristic lipoglycans, such as lipoarabinomannan. Here, Sparks et al. show that this lipoglycan plays roles in maintenance of local cell envelope integrity and septal placement during cell division.

Gangliosides are composed of oligosaccharide chains attached to ceramides and are employed as targeted drugs and diagnostic biomarkers, however, their industrially-relevant synthesis remains challenging. Here, the authors develop a modular chemoenzymatic cascade assembly strategy for the customized and large-scale synthesis of ganglioside analogues with various glycan and ceramide epitopes.

A potential role for glycosphingolipids and lipid rafts in apical sorting was initially met with enthusiasm, but genetic analysis has since provided little support for it. A report now establishes that glycosphingolipids mediate apical sorting, and specifically help maintain apicobasal polarity in Caenorhabditis elegans.