Ecological lipidology

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

Abstract

Dietary lipids (DLs), particularly sterols and fatty acids, are precursors for endogenous lipids that, unusually for macronutrients, shape cellular and organismal function long after inges-tion. These functions – cell membrane structure, intracellular signalling, and hormonal activity – vary with the identity of DLs, and scale up to influence health, survival, and reproductive fitness, thereby affecting evolutionary change. Our Ecological Lipidology approach integrates biochemical mechanisms and molecular cell biology into evolution and nutritional ecology. It exposes our need to understand environmental impacts on lipidomes, the lipid specificity of cell functions, and predicts the evolution of lipid-based diet choices. Broad interdisciplinary implications of Ecological Lipidology include food web alterations, species responses to environmental change, as well as sex differences and lifestyle impacts on human nutrition, and opportunities for DL-based therapies.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Article numbere79288
JournaleLife
Volume11
Publication statusPublished - 7 Sept 2022
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

Scopus 85137745354
PubMed 36069772
Mendeley 84af6716-2226-3829-8192-d867d5dccd07
unpaywall 10.7554/elife.79288

Keywords

Sustainable Development Goals

Keywords

  • Diet, Dietary Fats, Fatty Acids, Female, Food Chain, Humans, Male, Signal Transduction