Access the full text.
Sign up today, get DeepDyve free for 14 days.
Loading next page...
/lp/annual-reviews/aquaporins-and-water-permeability-of-plant-membranes-0XEH00JWqX
References
References for this paper are not available at this time. We will be adding them shortly, thank you for your patience.
- Publisher
- Annual Reviews
- Copyright
- Copyright © 1997 by Annual Reviews Inc. All rights reserved
- Subject
- Review Articles
- ISSN
- 1040-2519
- DOI
- 10.1146/annurev.arplant.48.1.399
- Publisher site
- See Article on Publisher Site
Abstract
▪ Abstract The mechanisms of plant membrane water permeability have remained elusive until the recent discovery in both vacuolar and plasma membranes of a class of water channel proteins named aquaporins. Similar to their animal counterparts, plant aquaporins have six membrane-spanning domains and belong to the MIP superfamily of transmembrane channel proteins. Their very high efficiency and selectivity in transporting water molecules have been mostly characterized using heterologous expression in Xenopus oocytes. However, techniques set up to measure the osmotic water permeability of plant membranes such as transcellular osmosis, pressure probe measurements, or stopped-flow spectrophotometry are now being used to analyze the function of plant aquaporins in their native membranes. Multiple mechanisms, at the transcriptional and posttranslational levels, control the expression and activity of the numerous aquaporin isoforms found in plants. These studies suggest a general role for aquaporins in regulating transmembrane water transport during the growth, development, and stress responses of plants. Future research will investigate the integrated function of aquaporins in long-distance water transport and cellular osmoregulation.
Journal
Annual Review of Plant Biology – Annual Reviews
Published: Jun 1, 1997