Twists and turns--How we stepped into and had fun in the "boring" lipid field.
Compared to proteins and RNAs, functional specificities associated with structural variations in fatty acids and lipids have been greatly underexplored. This review describes how our lab naively started to work on lipids 14 years ago, and how we have gradually overcome obstacles to address some interesting biological questions by combining genetics with biochemical methods on the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Our studies have revealed lipid variants and their metabolic pathways, in specific tissues, impact development and behaviors by regulating specific signaling events. The review also discusses the general research approach, style of lab management, and funding mechanisms that have facilitated the frequent research direction changes in the lab, including the journey into the lipid field.
Howard Hughes Medical Institute and University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, CO, 80309-0347, USA. mhan@colorado.edu.
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Han
D000818:Animals; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000378:metabolism*; D050356:Lipid Metabolism / Q000235:genetics*; D013058:Mass Spectrometry; D000076222:Mechanistic Target of Rapamycin Complex 1; D053858:Metabolic Networks and Pathways / Q000235:genetics; D046912:Multiprotein Complexes / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D034622:RNA Interference; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000235:genetics; D058570:TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins; D005227:Fatty Acids; D046912:Multiprotein Complexes; D000076222:Mechanistic Target of Rapamycin Complex 1; D058570:TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases
IP3; SUN and KASH domain; TORC1; foraging behavior; genetic redundancy; glucosylceramide; mmBCFA; monomethyl branched-chain fatty acid