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Sphingolipids are critically significant in a range of biological processes in animals, plants, and fungi. In mammalian cells, they serve as vital components of the plasma membrane (PM) in maintaining its structure, tension, and fluidity. They also play a key role in a wide variety of biological processes, such as intracellular signal transduction, cell polarization, differentiation, and migration. In plants, sphingolipids are important for cell development and for cell response to environmental stresses. In pathogenic fungi, sphingolipids are crucial for the initiation and the development of infection processes afflicting humans. However, our knowledge on the metabolism and function of the sphingolipid metabolic pathway of pathogenic fungi affecting plants is still very limited. In this review, we discuss recent developments on sphingolipid pathways of plant pathogenic fungi, highlighting their uniqueness and similarity with plants and animals. In addition, we discuss recent advances in the research and development of fungal-targeted inhibitors of the sphingolipid pathway, to gain insights on how we can better control the infection process occurring in plants to prevent or/and to treat fungal infections in crops. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contamination control and removal are very important technical aspects of microbiological research. Bacterial contamination is very common in fungal cultures. Currently, the commonly used approach for inhibiting bacteria is antibiotic treatment; however, there are drawbacks to using antibiotics, including incomplete removal, limited antibacterial spectra, tendency toward recontamination, effects to fungal strains, and potential risks to the environment. Therefore, in the present work, we developed a new method for bacterial removal from fungi cultured on solid medium, the Cabin-Sequestering (CS) method, based on the different culture characteristics between fungi and bacteria. First, 3–5 mm round or square holes (the "cabin") are excavated on a solid medium plate. The fungal strain containing possible bacterial contamination is inoculated into the cabin. The cabin is then covered with a sterilized coverslip, followed by incubation at the appropriate temperature. After 7–10 days of culturing, fungal hyphae grow out along the edge of the coverslip; however, the contaminating bacteria cannot pass through the space formed between the medium and the coverslip and, thus, remain in the cabin. The newly grown fungal hyphae around the coverslip are re-inoculated into fresh culture plates, where they form bacteria-free fungal colonies. The CS method is easy handling, with a short experimental cycle and rare recontamination. When necessary, it can also be used in combination with antibiotics in bacterial removal operations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]