Sugar transporter genes of the brown planthopper, Nilaparvata lugens: A facilitated glucose/fructose transporter

► Sugar transporter genes were characterized from the brown planthopper, one of the most important pests in rice production, and functional analyses of the transporter genes were performed using the Xenopus oocyte expression system. We identified 18 candidate planthopper sugar transporter genes from EST sequences and analyzed the expression levels of the genes among tissues and developmental stages. One of the transporter genes mainly expressed in the midgut was revealed to be a glucose/fructose transporter, which appears to mediate transport of glucose and fructose that are digested from sucrose in rice plant sap.