Definition
Aquaporins or major intrinsic proteins (MIPs) are transmembrane channel proteins, which facilitate the passive and bidirectional diffusion of water and/or small and noncharged compounds across biological membranes. Aquaporins are found in organisms of all kingdoms of life and are present in all main subcellular membrane systems. The substrate specificity/spectra of aquaporins are highly isoform-dependent. Selenite is one of the major bioaccessible selenium compounds for plants. A member of the nodulin26-like intrinsic protein (NIP) aquaporin subfamily from rice (Oryza sativa) was shown to facilitate the diffusion of undissociated selenite molecules across the plasma membrane. To date, aquaporins represent the only known selenite transport proteins in plants.
Selenium in Plants
Selenium (Se) is an essential microelement in most eukaryotes, including mammals and...
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Bienert, G.P., Chaumont, F. (2013). Selenium and Aquaporins. In: Kretsinger, R.H., Uversky, V.N., Permyakov, E.A. (eds) Encyclopedia of Metalloproteins. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-1533-6_473
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-1533-6_473
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
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Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-1533-6
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