The role of nucleotide sugar transporters in development of eukaryotes

Abstract

The Golgi apparatus membrane of all eukaryotes has nucleotide sugar transporters which play essential roles in the glycosylation of glycoproteins, proteoglycans and glycolipids. Mutations of these transporters have broad developmental phenotypes across many species including diseases in humans and cattle.

Fig. 1

The phenotypes of nucleotide sugar transporter diseases and mutations in multicellular organisms. A. A child with Leukocyte Adhesion Deficiency II (a mutation of the GDP-Fuc transporter), Copyright Elsevier (J Pediatrics) (1999) reference [1]. B. A calf with complex vertebral malformation (a mutation in the UDP-GlcNAc transporter), Copyright Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, reference [2]. The malformed vertebrae and scoliosis are shown by arrows, the fused ribs are shown by arrowheads. C. Drosophila melanogaster with a mutation in a multisubstrate nucleotide sugar transporter, adapted by permission from Macmillan Publishers Ltd. reference [3]. Arrowheads show the shortened joints between tarsal segments in the frc mutant. Nicked wing is indicated by an arrow. D. Caenorhabditis elegans nucleotide sugar transporter mutant srf-3 in which the nucleotide sugar transporter C03H5.2 was silenced, Copyright ASBMB (2007), reference [4]. The migration of nogads is depicted by white arrows.

Fig. 2

Amino acid sequence alignment of UDP-GlcNAc transporter from Kluyveromyces lactis (AAC49313), UDP-GlcNAc transporter from canis (NP_001003385), UDP-GlcNAc transporter from Bos taurus (NP_001098856.1), UDP-Gal transporter from Homo sapiens (NP_005651.1), CMP-sialic acid transporter from Homo sapiens (NP_006407.1) and GDP-Fuc transporter from Homo sapiens (NP_060859.4). The Clustal W method was used. Identical amino acids are in black.