It is possible that they are distant constituents of the MFS (2.A.1). The nucleobase-cation-symport-1 (NCS1) transporters are essential components of salvage pathways for nucleobases and related metabolites. Weyand et al. (2008) reported the 2.85-angstrom resolution structure of the NCS1 benzyl-hydantoin transporter, Mhp1 (TC# 2.A.39.3.6), from "Microbacterium liquefaciens". This structure (and related structures) are available through RCSB (, , , , , ). Mhp1 contains 12 transmembrane helices, 10 of which are arranged in two inverted repeats of five helices. The structures of the outward-facing open and substrate-bound occluded conformations were solved, showing how the outward-facing cavity closes upon binding of substrate. Comparisons with the leucine transporter LeuT(Aa) and the galactose transporter vSGLT reveal that the outward- and inward-facing cavities are symmetrically arranged on opposite sides of the membrane. The reciprocal opening and closing of these cavities is synchronized by the inverted repeat helices 3 and 8, providing the structural basis of the alternating access model for membrane transport. NCS1 proteins are H+/Na+ symporters specific for the uptake of purines, pyrimidines and related metabolites. Krypotou et al. 2015 studied the origin, diversification and substrate specificities of fungal NCS1 transporters, suggesting that the two fungal NCS1 subfamilies, Fur and Fcy, and plant homologues, originated through independent horizontal transfers from prokaryotes. Expansion by gene duplication led to functional diversification of fungal NCS1 porters. They characterized all Fur proteins in Aspergillus nidulans. Homology modelling, substrate docking, molecular dynamics and systematic mutational analysis in three Fur transporters with distinct specificities identified residues critical for function and specificity, located within a major substrate binding site, in transmembrane segments TMS1, TMS3, TMS6 and TMS8. They predicted and confirmed that residues determining substrate specificity are located not only in the major substrate binding site, but also in a putative outward-facing selectivity gate. Their evolutionary and structure-function analyses led to the concept that selective channel-like gates may contribute to substrate specificity.