Schizosaccharomyces pombe UDP‐galactose transporter: identification of its functional form through cDNA cloning and expression in mammalian cells

Abstract
The Schizosaccharomyces pombe UDP‐galactose transporter cDNA (SpUGT cDNA), encoding the product of the gms1 + gene which consists of two exon sequences separated by a 173‐bp intron, was cloned by RT‐PCR. Its product, a hydrophobic protein of 353 amino acid residues resembling its human counterpart, was expressed in the Golgi membranes of UDP‐galactose transporter‐deficient Lec8 cells, and complemented the genetic defect of the mutant cells. This indicated that SpUGT cDNA encodes the functional S. pombe UDP‐galactose transporter. The product of an ORF found in the second exon, which was previously assumed to be the S. pombe UDP‐galactose transporter, thus represents an inactive, truncated form of the SpUGT protein.

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