The transport of glycolic acid by Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

Evidence for a transport system for glycolate in Chlamydomonas was obtained. [14C]Glycolate was taken up rapidly, reaching an equilibrium in less than 2 s at 4 degrees C. Glycolate uptake was stimulated by valinomycin and high KCl or high KCl alone and inhibited by N-ethylmaleimide. This uptake was not dependent on temperature or pH in contrast to uptake of benzoate by diffusion which decreased by orders of magnitude with increasing external pH. Based on these data, a transporter for glycolate is proposed.