Gutless marine worms on a Mediterranean diet: Animals can synthesize phytosterols
Cholesterol and phytosterol are sterols, fatty compounds essential for many biological processes such as the functioning of cell membranes. Up to now, it has been assumed that phytosterols are characteristic for plants, and cholesterol for animals, and that only plants can make phytosterols, while animals typically make cholesterol.
Gutless marine #worms on a Mediterranean diet: #Animals can synthesize #phytosterols https://phys.org/news/2023-05-gutless-marine-worms-mediterranean-diet.html
De novo phytosterol synthesis in animals https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.add7830 by Dolma Michellod et al.
"Their study is the first to show that a #metazoan #animal can synthesize #phytosterols... Even more surprising for the researchers was their discovery that the gene needed to make #sitosterol from precursors of #cholesterol is widespread in the animal kingdom."
Gutless marine worms on a Mediterranean diet: Animals can synthesize phytosterols
Cholesterol and phytosterol are sterols, fatty compounds essential for many biological processes such as the functioning of cell membranes. Up to now, it has been assumed that phytosterols are characteristic for plants, and cholesterol for animals, and that only plants can make phytosterols, while animals typically make cholesterol.
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