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Originally published as MBC in Press, 10.1091/mbc.E06-10-0931 on December 27, 2006

Vol. 18, Issue 3, 965-975, March 2007

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Identification of an N-Acetylglucosamine Transporter That Mediates Hyphal Induction in Candida albicansFormula

Francisco J. Alvarez*, and James B. Konopka{dagger}

*Graduate Program in Genetics and {dagger}Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, State University of New York, Stony Brook, NY 11794-5222

Submitted October 19, 2006; Revised December 5, 2006; Accepted December 20, 2006
Monitoring Editor: Daniel Lew

The sugar N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc) plays an important role in nutrient sensing and cellular regulation in a wide range of organisms from bacteria to humans. In the fungal pathogen Candida albicans, GlcNAc induces a morphological transition from budding to hyphal growth. Proteomic comparison of plasma membrane proteins from buds and from hyphae induced by GlcNAc identified a novel hyphal protein (Ngt1) with similarity to the major facilitator superfamily of transporters. An Ngt1-GFP fusion was detected in the plasma membrane after induction with GlcNAc, but not other related sugars. Ngt1-GFP was also induced by macrophage phagocytosis, suggesting a role for the GlcNAc response in signaling entry into phagolysosomes. NGT1 is needed for efficient GlcNAc uptake and for the ability to induce hyphae at low GlcNAc concentrations. High concentrations of GlcNAc could bypass the need for NGT1 to induce hyphae, indicating that elevated intracellular levels of GlcNAc induce hyphal formation. Expression of NGT1 in Saccharomyces cerevisiae promoted GlcNAc uptake, indicating that Ngt1 acts directly as a GlcNAc transporter. Transport mediated by Ngt1 was specific, as other sugars could not compete for the uptake of GlcNAc. Thus, Ngt1 represents the first eukaryotic GlcNAc transporter to be discovered. The presence of NGT1 homologues in the genome sequences of a wide range of eukaryotes from yeast to mammals suggests that they may also function in the cellular processes regulated by GlcNAc, including those that underlie important diseases such as cancer and diabetes.

This was published online ahead of print in MBC in Press (http://www.molbiolcell.org/cgi/doi/10.1091/mbc.E06-10-0931) on December 27, 2006.

Formula The online version of this article contains supplemental material at MBC Online (http://www.molbiolcell.org).

Address correspondence to: James B. Konopka (james.konopka{at}sunysb.edu)






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