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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Florence, South Carolina » Coastal Plain Soil, Water and Plant Conservation Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #317174

Title: Aquaporins as targets for stress tolerance in plants: genomic complexity and perspectives

Author
item PARK, WONKEUN - Clemson University
item Campbell, Benjamin - Todd

Submitted to: Turkish Journal of Botany
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/7/2015
Publication Date: 12/15/2015
Citation: Park, W.J., Campbell, B.T. 2015. Aquaporins as targets for stress tolerance in plants: genomic complexity and perspectives. Turkish Journal of Botany. 39:879-886.

Interpretive Summary: Plant aquaporins are important for the transport of water and nutrients critically important for vegetative and reproductive growth. Increasing evidence suggests that aquaporins play an important role in host plant tolerance to abiotic and biotic stress. However, the gene structure and genomic distribution of the plant aquaporins is highly complex. In this review, we will discuss the important characteristics of aquaporins as multi-functional transport channels that are often found clustered in genomes and relevant to stress resistance in plants.

Technical Abstract: As a multigene family, plant aquaporins function not only in water transport but also in transport of small elements that are important for vegetative and reproductive growth of plants. Increasing data exhibit the relevance of aquaporins to biotic and abiotic stress tolerance such as drought and nutrient deficiencies. With the accumulation of crop genome sequencing it is revealed that several aquaporins are conserved in subchromosomal localization with tandem duplicated members. In this review, we will discuss the important characteristics of aquaporins as multi-functional transport channels that are often found clustered in genomes and relevant to stress resistance in plants.