Sugar transporters in the black truffle Tuber melanosporum : from gene prediction to functional characterization

•Among potential sugar transporters annotated in T. melanosporum genome, three were characterized.•TmelHXT1, Tmel2281 and Tmel131 are properly located in S. cerevisiae plasma membrane.•TmelHXT1 and Tmel2281 are abundant in ectomycorrhiza and function as hexose transporters.•Tmel131 is expressed in fruiting body for a probable saprophytic strategy in maturation.