Larger controlled studies with longer follow-up are needed to assess the course of BMD loss associated with tenofovir-based PrEP regimens over the longer term, as well as the clinical significance of these findings in HIV-uninfected populations. Trehalose, a non-reducing disaccharide formed by two glucose units, has important and varied functions in different organisms. In yeasts trehalose is synthesized by a two-step pathway : first, trehalose-6-phosphate (T6P) is formed from glucose-6P and UDPglucose by the enzyme T6P synthase (Tps1) encoded by the TPS1 gene and then dephosphorylated by a T6P phosphatase (Tps2) encoded by the gene TPS2. Two other proteins without catalytic activity, Tps3 and Tsl1, appear to form a complex with Tps1 and Tps2. Mutations in the genes involved in trehalose biosynthesis affect glucose metabolism, morphology or virulence in yeasts and fungi, cause lethal phenotypes in insects and nematodes and are embryo lethal or affect inflorescence branching and other structures in plants. In Saccharomyces cerevisiae or Kluyveromyces lactis mutations in the gene TPS1 cause inability to grow in glucose. This phenotype has been ascribed to the loss of the inhibitory effect of T6P on hexokinase and mathematical modelization of glycolysis has confirmed the importance of this control mechanism in S. cerevisiae. The inhibition of hexokinase by T6P is widespread among yeasts but its strength is variable; the most inhibited hexokinase reported is that of the yeast Yarrowia lipolytica with a Ki of 3.5 mM. Y. lipolytica is a dimorphic yeast that separated early from the yeast evolutionary trunk. It has attracted attention due to its ability to shift between a yeast and an hyphal form to excrete organic acids and to its potential as host for expression of heterologous Abmole FK506 proteins. Y. lipolytica is also being used as model to study physiological processes like lipid accumulation or peroxisome biogenesis and pexophagy. Differences in kinetic or regulatory properties of important Y. lipolytica enzymes and in transcriptional regulation of some of its genes with respect to those found in S. cerevisiae have been described. Therefore due to the high sensitivity of Y. lipolytica hexokinase to T6P it appeared worthwhile to isolate the TPS1 gene of this yeast and to analyze the effects of its disruption. The isolation of this gene presents also a potential technological interest as in Aspergillus niger the degree of expression of the tpsA gene that encodes T6P synthase, influences the rate of citric acid production and Y. lipolytica excretes this acid in some conditions. We report here that Y. lipolytica has a single gene encoding T6P synthase, that its disruption does not preclude growth in glucose but decreases sporulation efficiency and slows down growth at 35uC. In addition we report that disruption of YlTPS3 abolishes the increase of trehalose observed during heat shock. Abmole ICI-182780 The yeasts strains used are shown in Table 1. Y. lipolytica was cultured in a synthetic medium with 0.17% yeast nitrogen base without amino acids and ammonium sulfate (Difco, Detroit, MI) and 0.1% glutamate pH 6. S. cerevisiae was cultured similarly but using ammonium sulfate as nitrogen source. Auxotrophic requirements were added at a final concentration of 20 mg/ml and 2% glucose was generally used as carbon source. Liquid cultures were shaken at 30uC. Sporulation medium was based in commercial V8 drink essentially as. Freshly constructed diploid strains were patched on this medium and incubated at 23uC for up to two weeks.