Identification and molecular analysis of the barley aquaporin superfamily and the wheat NIP and SIP aquaporins

Aquaporins are membrane proteins that facilitate the flow of water and other substrates across cellular membranes. Given the importance of aquaporins in physiological processes such as nutrient acquisition, photosynthesis and stress responses, the current study sought to identify and characterise these genes from two important food crops, barley and wheat. A combination of a recent technology, mRNA-Seq and bioinformatics resulted in the identification of forty barley aquaporins, of which eighteen were affected by exposure to salt. These findings are fundamental to the extension of our knowledge on barley aquaporins and for the selection of suitable genes to be employed in the development of tolerant crops.