Specialized Sugar Sensing in Diverse Fungi

Summary S. cerevisiae senses glucose and galactose differently. Glucose is detected through sensors that reside in the cellular plasma membrane. When activated, the sensors initiate a signal-transduction cascade that ultimately inactivates the Rgt1 transcriptional repressor by causing degradation of its corepressors Mth1 and Std1 [1, 2]. This results in the expression of many HXT genes encoding glucose transporters [3]. The ensuing flood of glucose into the cell activates Mig1, a transcriptional repressor that mediates "glucose repression" of many genes, including the GAL genes; hence, glucose sensing hinders galactose utilization [4–6]. Galactose is sensed in the cytoplasm via Gal3. Upon binding galactose (and ATP), Gal3 sequesters the Gal80 protein, thereby emancipating the Gal4 transcriptional activator of the GAL genes [7]. Gal4 also activates expression of MTH1 , encoding a corepressor critical for Rgt1 function [8]. Thus, galactose inhibits glucose assimilation by encouraging repression of HXT genes. C. albicans senses glucose similarly to S. cerevisiae but does not sense galactose through Gal3-Gal80-Gal4 [9]. Its genome harbors no GAL80 ortholog, and the severely truncated CaGal4 does not regulate CaGAL genes [9, 10]. We present evidence that C. albicans senses galactose with its Hgt4 glucose sensor, a capability that is enabled by transcriptional "rewiring" of its sugar-sensing signal-transduction pathways. We suggest that galactose sensing through Hgt4 is ancestral in fungi.