O-GlcNAc modification of nuclear pore complexes accelerates bidirectional transport

Kohler highlights work from Yoo and Mitchison that reveals that O-GlcNAcylation of the nuclear pore complex accelerates nucleocytoplasmic trafficking in both directions.
FG-repeat nucleoporins at the center of the nuclear pore complex (NPC) are highly modified with O-GlcNAc. In this issue, Yoo and Mitchison (2021. J. Cell Biol. https://doi.org/10.1083/jcb.202010141) use optogenetic probes to show that O-GlcNAc enhances permeability of the NPC, accelerating transport in both directions.