Figure 1. Extracellular hydrolysis of sucrose allows other cells to share glucose and fructose.

(A) Sucrose is hydrolyzed into glucose and fructose by invertase located in the cell wall. The glucose and fructose are imported into the cell by hexose transporters or escape into the medium by diffusion. (B) The glucose and fructose monosaccharides diffuse away from the cell wall and are more easily shared between cells when the cells are clustered in a clump (right) than when the cells are spaced apart (left).