Effect of sugars on amino acid transport by symbiotic Chlorella

Symbiotic Chlorella F36-ZK isolated from Paramecium bursaria F36 has constitutive amino acid transport systems, whereas free-living Chlorella does not. We found that in symbiotic algae, the rate of serine (Ser) uptake increased in the presence of glucose (Glc) and non-metabolisable analogues, whilst incorporation of Ser into protein was not affected. The activation did not involve new protein synthesis and was enhanced under alkaline conditions. An increase in the rate of Ser transport resulted from Glc treatment even when pulsed for only 1 min at low concentrations (EC50 = 3 μM). No uptake of Glc itself was observed in F36-ZK. Thus, the transport signal appears to be transmitted via a glucose sensing and signalling pathway. Many Glc-related compounds also increased the rate of Ser uptake without an additive effect, suggesting recognition of these sugars by the same receptor and providing some insight into features of the structure–activity relationship. Ser uptake by F36-ZK is inhibited by Ca2+, which is typically considered to be a positive modulator of amino acid uptake. Given that Glc restored Ser uptake from inhibition by Ca2+, we propose that this compound is possibly involved in regulation of amino acid transport in this symbiotic relationship.