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Major facilitator superfamily

S S Pao1, I T Paulsen, M H Saier

  • 1Department of Biology, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla 92093-0116, USA.

Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews : MMBR
|April 8, 1998
PubMed
Summary

The major facilitator superfamily (MFS) is a vast group of membrane transporters found across all life. This study identifies 17 MFS families, revealing their diverse transport functions and evolutionary origins.

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Area of Science:

  • Biochemistry
  • Molecular Biology
  • Genetics

Background:

  • The major facilitator superfamily (MFS) represents one of Earth's largest membrane transporter families.
  • MFS proteins are ubiquitous across bacteria, archaea, and eukarya, facilitating diverse transport mechanisms.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To identify and characterize homologous MFS protein sequences from public databases.
  • To perform phylogenetic analyses to understand the evolutionary relationships and diversity within the MFS.

Main Methods:

  • Sequence similarity searches were used to identify all homologous MFS proteins.
  • Phylogenetic analyses were conducted to classify MFS proteins into distinct families.
  • Structural analysis focused on transmembrane alpha-helical spanners and conserved motifs.

Main Results:

  • 17 distinct families within the MFS were identified, generally specializing in single compound classes.
  • MFS permeases transport a wide array of compounds including sugars, amino acids, nucleosides, and various ions.
  • All MFS permeases possess 12 or 14 transmembrane alpha-helical spanners, suggesting a common evolutionary origin via gene duplication.
  • A conserved motif between transmembrane spanners 2 and 3 is present across all 17 families.

Conclusions:

  • The MFS is a highly diverse and ancient transporter family with a conserved structural and evolutionary basis.
  • Understanding MFS diversity aids in characterizing cellular transport mechanisms across all domains of life.

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