Identification of an <span style="font-variant: small-caps">l</span>-Arabitol Transporter from <i>Aspergillus niger</i>

Abstract

l-arabitol is an intermediate of the pentose catabolic pathway in fungi but can also be used as a carbon source by many fungi, suggesting the presence of transporters for this polyol. In this study, an l-arabitol transporter, LatA, was identified in Aspergillus niger. Growth and expression profiles as well as sugar consumption analysis indicated that LatA only imports l-arabitol and is regulated by the arabinanolytic transcriptional activator AraR. Moreover, l-arabitol production from wheat bran was increased in a metabolically engineered A. niger mutant by the deletion of latA, indicating its potential for improving l-arabitol-producing cell factories. Phylogenetic analysis showed that homologs of LatA are widely conserved in fungi.

Keywords

• <i>Aspergillus niger</i>
• polyol
• l-arabitol%22%2C%22default_operator%22%3A%22AND%22%7D%7D%7D"> <span style="font-variant: small-caps">l</span>-arabitol
• transporter
• wheat bran
• sugar beet pulp