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Updated: Jun 2, 2026

Characterization of Membrane Transporters by Heterologous Expression in E. coli and Production of Membrane Vesicles
Published on: December 31, 2019
Plant sucrose transporters from a biophysical point of view
1Julius-von-Sachs Institute, Molecular Plant Physiology and Biophysics, University Würzburg, Julius-von-Sachs Platz 2, D-97082 Würzburg, Germany. geiger@botanik.uni-wuerzburg.de
Abstract:
The majority of higher plants use sucrose as their main mobile carbohydrate. Proton-driven sucrose transporters play a crucial role in cell-to-cell and long-distance distribution of sucrose throughout the plant. A very negative plant membrane potential and the ability of sucrose transporters to accumulate sucrose concentrations of more than 1 M indicate that plants evolved transporters with unique structural and functional features. The knowledge about the transport mechanism and structural/functional domains of these nano-machines is, however, still fragmentary. In this review, the current knowledge about the biophysical properties of plant sucrose transporters is summarized and discussed.
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