Molecular Biology Commons^™

The Glucose Metabolite Methylglyoxal Inhibits Expression Of The Glucose Transport Genes By Inactivating The Cell Surface Glucose Sensors Rgt2 And Snf3 In Yeast, Adhiraj Roy, Salman Hashmi, Zerui Li, Angela Dement, Kyu Hong Cho, Jeong-Ho Kim

Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine Faculty Publications

Methylglyoxal (MG) is a cytotoxic by-product of glycolysis. MG has inhibitory effect on the growth of cells ranging from microorganisms to higher eukaryotes, but its molecular targets are largely unknown. The yeast cell-surface glucose sensors Rgt2 and Snf3 function as glucose receptors that sense extracellular glucose and generate a signal for induction of expression of genes encoding glucose transporters (HXTs). Here we provide evidence that these glucose sensors are primary targets of MG in yeast. MG inhibits the growth of glucose-fermenting yeast cells by inducing endocytosis and degradation of the glucose sensors. However, the glucose sensors with mutations …