The Monocarboxylate Transporter Homolog Mch5p Catalyzes Riboflavin (Vitamin B2) Uptake in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Riboflavin is a water-soluble vitamin (vitamin B2) required for the production of the flavin cofactors FMN and FAD. Mammals are unable to synthesize riboflavin and need a dietary supply of the vitamin. Riboflavin transport proteins operating in the plasma membrane thus have an important role in the absorption of the vitamin. However, their sequences remained elusive, and not a single eukaryotic riboflavin transporter is known to date. Here we used a genetic approach to isolate MCH5, a Saccharomyces cerevisiae gene with homology to mammalian monocarboxylate transporters, and characterize the protein as a plasma membrane transporter for riboflavin. This conclusion is based on the suppression of riboflavin biosynthetic mutants (rib mutants) by overexpression of MCH5 and by synthetic growth defects caused by deletion of MCH5 in rib mutants. We also show that cellular processes in multiple compartments are affected by deletion of MCH5 and localize the protein to the plasma membrane. Transport experiments in S. cerevisiae and Schizosaccharomyces pombe cells demonstrate that Mch5p is a high affinity transporter (Km = 17 μm) with a pH optimum at pH 7.5. Riboflavin uptake is not inhibited by protonophores, does not require metabolic energy, and operates by a facilitated diffusion mechanism. The expression of MCH5 is regulated by the cellular riboflavin content. This indicates that S. cerevisiae has a mechanism to sense riboflavin and avert riboflavin deficiency by increasing the expression of the plasma membrane transporter MCH5. Moreover, the other members of the MCH gene family appear to have unrelated functions.