Molecular identification of a glucose transporter from fish muscle

In mammals and birds, several isoforms of facilitative glucose transporters have been identified (GLUT1-4), but no information is available regarding the molecules involved in glucose transport in other vertebrates, Here,ve r eport the cloning of a GLUT molecule from fish muscle with high sequence ho mology to GLUT4 and containing features characteristic of a functional GLUT . Fish GLUT is expressed predominantly in skeletal muscle, kidney and gill, which are tissues with known high glucose utilization. These results indic ate that fish GLUT is structurally, and perhaps functionally, similar to th e other known GLUTs expressed in muscle in mammalian and avian species. (C) 2000 Federation of European Biochemical Societies, Published by Elsevier S cience B.V. All rights reserved.