SWEET transporters

[3] The generalized reaction catalyzed by known proteins of this family is:[1] SWEETs were originally identified in Arabidopsis thaliana, in a screen for novel facilitators of transmembrane glucose transport.

These membrane proteins were co-expressed with a fluorescent FRET (Förster resonance energy transfer) glucose sensor localized to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER).

[10] Chen et al. (2010) reviewed evidence for a new class of sugar transporters, named SWEETs.

A combination of localization studies and starch accumulation assays showed that SWEET9 is involved in sucrose efflux from the nectary parenchyma.

The team noticed that mRNA and protein for SWEETs 11, 12, and 15 are each expressed at high levels during some stage of embryo development.

[14] Many bacterial homologues have only 3 TMSs and are half sized, but they nevertheless are members of the SWEET family with a single 3 TMS repeat unit.

Based on 3-D structural analyses, it is likely that these paired 3 TMS SWEET family members function as carriers.

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