Isolation of a gene encoding a putative polyamine transporter from Candida albicans, GPT1

A gene encoding a transport protein from the pathogenic yeast, Candida albicans, has been isolated during a complementation experiment utilizing an ornithine decarboxylase-negative (spe1 Delta) strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. This gene restores gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) transport to a GABA transport-negative mutant of S. cerevisiae and encodes a protein which putatively allows transport of one or more of the polyamines. We have assigned the name GPT1 (GABA/polyamine transporter) to this gene.