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Advances of Plant Aquaporins

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A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Plant Sciences".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 April 2024 | Viewed by 9590

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Prof. Dr. Micaela Carvajal

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Guest Editor

Aquaporins Group, Centro de Edafología y Biología Aplicada del Segura, CEBAS-CSIC, Campus Universitario de Espinardo, 25, E-30100 Murcia, Spain
Interests: aquaporins; plant adaptation to climate change; water absorption and transport in plants; proteomics and genomics of aquaporins; nanotechnology of proteins; biomolecules of industrial use
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Prof. Dr. María del Carmen Martínez Ballesta

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Agronomic Engineering Department, Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena, Paseo Alfonso XIII, 48., Murcia, 30203 Cartagena, Spain
Interests: water relations; aquaporins; secondary metabolism (glucosinolates); membrane proteins and nutrition in plants; crop production under different salinity stress
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Aquaporins as membrane channels that facilitate the transport of water and small molecules through plant membranes have been widely investigated during the last years. However, we are still at the initial steps of the investigation to discover the relation of each of them with all the development process of the plant (germination, growth, movement, fuit set…) and the involvement in the responses to all the abiotic and biotic stresses. Plant aquaporins are a large family divided into subfamilies and isoforms in the way that each one has a different cellular localisations, transport selectivity, and regulation properties. Even, some plant aquaporins can transport small solutes in addition to water, such as hydrogen peroxide, ammonia, urea, metalloids, gases and even ions. All this, indicate the complexity of the family according to the cellular functions. But, in addition to that, the several regulation mechanism as lipid environmental, gating, expression and subcellular trafficking lead to a exponetially complicate the system. Therefore, the studies that report recent progress achieved in plant aquaporins studies will be considered an essential contribution and they will be included in this Special Issue.

Prof. Dr. Micaela Carvajal
Prof. Dr. María del Carmen Martínez Ballesta
Guest Editors

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Keywords

plant aquaporins
cellular localisations
transport selectivity
cellular functions lipid environmental
gating, expression and subcellular trafficking

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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15 pages, 3752 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Plant Aquaporin Gating Is Reversed by Phosphorylation on Intracellular Loop D—Evidence from Molecular Dynamics Simulations

by Robin Mom, Stéphane Réty, Vincent Mocquet and Daniel Auguin

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(18), 13798; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms241813798 - 07 Sep 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 857

Abstract

Aquaporins (AQPs) constitute a wide and ancient protein family of transmembrane channels dedicated to the regulation of water exchange across biological membranes. In plants, higher numbers of AQP homologues have been conserved compared to other kingdoms of life such as in animals or in bacteria. As an illustration of this plant-specific functional diversity, plasma membrane intrinsic proteins (PIPs, i.e., a subfamily of plant AQPs) possess a long intracellular loop D, which can gate the channel by changing conformation as a function of the cellular environment. However, even though the closure of the AQP by loop D conformational changes is well described, the opening of the channel, on the other hand, is still misunderstood. Several studies have pointed to phosphorylation events as the trigger for the transition from closed- to open-channel states. Nonetheless, no clear answer has been obtained yet. Hence, in order to gain a more complete grasp of plant AQP regulation through this intracellular loop D gating, we investigated the opening of the channel in silico through molecular dynamics simulations of the crystallographic structure of Spinacia oleracea PIP2;1 (SoPIP2;1). Through this technique, we addressed the mechanistic details of these conformational changes, which eventually allowed us to propose a molecular mechanism for PIP functional regulation by loop D phosphorylation. More precisely, our results highlight the phosphorylation of loop D serine 188 as a trigger of SoPIP2;1 water channel opening. Finally, we discuss the significance of this result for the study of plant AQP functional diversity. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances of Plant Aquaporins)

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23 pages, 3418 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Red LED Light Improves Pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) Seed Radicle Emergence and Growth through the Modulation of Aquaporins, Hormone Homeostasis, and Metabolite Remobilization

by Chokri Zaghdoud, Irene Ollio, Cristóbal J. Solano, Jesús Ochoa, Juan Suardiaz, Juan A. Fernández and María del Carmen Martínez Ballesta

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(5), 4779; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms24054779 - 01 Mar 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1873

Abstract

Red LED light (R LED) is an efficient tool to improve seed germination and plant growth under controlled environments since it is more readily absorbed by photoreceptors’ phytochromes compared to other wavelengths of the spectrum. In this work, the effect of R LED on the radicle emergence and growth (Phase III of germination) of pepper seeds was evaluated. Thus, the impact of R LED on water transport through different intrinsic membrane proteins, via aquaporin (AQP) isoforms, was determined. In addition, the remobilization of distinct metabolites such as amino acids, sugars, organic acids, and hormones was analysed. R LED induced a higher germination speed index, regulated by an increased water uptake. PIP2;3 and PIP2;5 aquaporin isoforms were highly expressed and could contribute to a faster and more effective hydration of embryo tissues, leading to a reduction of the germination time. By contrast, TIP1;7, TIP1;8, TIP3;1 and TIP3;2 gene expressions were reduced in R LED-treated seeds, pointing to a lower need for protein remobilization. NIP4;5 and XIP1;1 were also involved in radicle growth but their role needs to be elucidated. In addition, R LED induced changes in amino acids and organic acids as well as sugars. Therefore, an advanced metabolome oriented to a higher energetic metabolism was observed, conditioning better seed germination performance together with a rapid water flux. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances of Plant Aquaporins)

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18 pages, 4504 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Transcriptomic Analysis of Distal Parts of Roots Reveals Potentially Important Mechanisms Contributing to Limited Flooding Tolerance of Canola (Brassica napus) Plants

by Mengmeng Liu and Janusz J. Zwiazek

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2022, 23(24), 15469; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms232415469 - 07 Dec 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1456

Abstract

Since most of the root metabolic activities as well as root elongation and the uptake of water and mineral nutrients take place in the distal parts of roots, we aimed to gain insight into the physiological and transcriptional changes induced by root hypoxia in the distal parts of roots in canola (Brassica napus) plants, which are relatively sensitive to flooding conditions. Plants were subject to three days of root hypoxia via lowering oxygen content in hydroponic medium, and various physiological and anatomical features were examined to characterize plant responses. Untargeted transcriptomic profiling approaches were also applied to investigate changes in gene expression that took place in the distal root tissues in response to hypoxia. Plants responded to three days of root hypoxia by reducing growth and gas exchange rates. These changes were accompanied by decreases in leaf water potential (Ψ_leaf) and root hydraulic conductivity (L_pr). Increased deposition of lignin and suberin was also observed in the root tissues of hypoxic plants. The transcriptomic data demonstrated that the effect of hypoxia on plant water relations involved downregulation of most BnPIPs in the root tissues with the exception of BnPIP1;3 and BnPIP2;7, which were upregulated. Since some members of the PIP1 subfamily of aquaporins are known to transport oxygen, the increase in BnPIP1;3 may represent an important hypoxia tolerance strategy in plants. The results also demonstrated substantial rearrangements of different signaling pathways and transcription factors (TFs), which resulted in alterations of genes involved in the regulation of L_pr, TCA (tricarboxylic acid) cycle-related enzymes, antioxidant enzymes, and cell wall modifications. An integration of these data enabled us to draft a comprehensive model of the molecular pathways involved in the responses of distal parts of roots in B. napus. The model highlights systematic transcriptomic reprogramming aimed at explaining the relative sensitivity of Brassica napus to root hypoxia. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances of Plant Aquaporins)

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18 pages, 2320 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Salinity Tolerance of Halophytic Grass Puccinellia nuttalliana Is Associated with Enhancement of Aquaporin-Mediated Water Transport by Sodium

by Maryamsadat Vaziriyeganeh, Micaela Carvajal, Ning Du and Janusz J. Zwiazek

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2022, 23(10), 5732; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms23105732 - 20 May 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1432

Abstract

In salt-sensitive plants, root hydraulic conductivity is severely inhibited by NaCl, rapidly leading to the loss of water balance. However, halophytic plants appear to effectively control plant water flow under salinity conditions. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that Na⁺ is the principal salt factor responsible for the enhancement of aquaporin-mediated water transport in the roots of halophytic grasses, and this enhancement plays a significant role in the maintenance of water balance, gas exchange, and the growth of halophytic plants exposed to salinity. We examined the effects of treatments with 150 mM of NaCl, KCl, and Na₂SO₄ to separate the factors that affect water relations and, consequently, physiological and growth responses in three related grass species varying in salt tolerance. The grasses included relatively salt-sensitive Poa pratensis, moderately salt-tolerant Poa juncifolia, and the salt-loving halophytic grass Puccinellia nuttalliana. Our study demonstrated that sustained growth, chlorophyll concentrations, gas exchange, and water transport in Puccinellia nuttalliana were associated with the presence of Na in the applied salt treatments. Contrary to the other examined grasses, the root cell hydraulic conductivity in Puccinellia nuttalliana was enhanced by the 150 mM NaCl and 150 mM Na₂SO₄ treatments. This enhancement was abolished by the 50 µM HgCl₂ treatment, demonstrating that Na was the factor responsible for the increase in mercury-sensitive, aquaporin-mediated water transport. The observed increases in root Ca and K concentrations likely played a role in the transcriptional and (or) posttranslational regulation of aquaporins that enhanced root water transport capacity in Puccinellia nuttalliana. The study demonstrates that Na plays a key role in the aquaporin-mediated root water transport of the halophytic grass Puccinellia nuttalliana, contributing to its salinity tolerance. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances of Plant Aquaporins)

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Review

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20 pages, 1238 KiB

Open AccessReview

Confronting Secondary Metabolites with Water Uptake and Transport in Plants under Abiotic Stress

by Juan Nicolas-Espinosa, Paula Garcia-Ibañez, Alvaro Lopez-Zaplana, Lucia Yepes-Molina, Lorena Albaladejo-Marico and Micaela Carvajal

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(3), 2826; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms24032826 - 01 Feb 2023

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 3137

Abstract

Phenolic compounds and glucosinolates are secondary plant metabolites that play fundamental roles in plant resistance to abiotic stress. These compounds have been found to increase in stress situations related to plant adaptive capacity. This review assesses the functions of phenolic compounds and glucosinolates in plant interactions involving abiotic stresses such as drought, salinity, high temperature, metals toxicity, and mineral deficiency or excess. Furthermore, their relation with water uptake and transport mediated through aquaporins is reviewed. In this way, the increases of phenolic compounds and glucosinolate synthesis have been related to primary responses to abiotic stress and induction of resistance. Thus, their metabolic pathways, root exudation, and external application are related to internal cell and tissue movement, with a lack of information in this latter aspect. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances of Plant Aquaporins)

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