Aayushi Bajaj

Position: Ph.D. Scholar

Scientific interest: Phosphorus is an important component of the cell. It is the constituent of DNA, RNA, proteins, ATP and phospholipids in the cell membrane. PiPT is a high-affinity phosphate transporter in P. indica, found to be crucial for the transport of phosphate to the symbiotic plants. This transporter belongs to the major facilitator superfamily (MFS). Crystal structure of PiPT shows that the structure and the mechanism of the transport are conserved with the MFS superfamily14. PiPT is known to be homologous to S. cerevisiae phosphate transporter (Pho 84), plant phosphate transporter, human glucose transporter and human solute carrier (SLC) group. These transporters are known to be differentially expressed in the cancerous cell. These transporters are important for the import of nutrients in cancerous cells in nutrient-deprived conditions. Targeting these transporters involved in cancer cell survival can be helpful in the development of potential therapeutic drugs for cancer.