title: Metalloido-porins: Essentiality of Nodulin 26-like intrinsic proteins in metalloid transport.
abstract: Metalloids are a group of physiologically important elements ranging from the essential to the highly toxic. Arsenic, antimony, germanium, and tellurium are highly toxic to plants themselves and to consumers of metalloid-contaminated plants. Boron, silicon, and selenium fulfill essential or beneficial functions in plants. However, when present at high concentrations, boron and selenium cause toxicity symptoms that are detrimental to plant fitness and yield. Consequently, all plants require efficient membrane transport systems to control the uptake and extrusion of metalloids into or out of the plant and their distribution within the plant body. Several Nodulin 26-like intrinsic proteins (NIPs) that belong to the aquaporin plant water channel protein family facilitate the diffusion of uncharged metalloid species. Genetic, physiological, and molecular evidence is that NIPs from primitive to higher plants not only transport all environmentally important metalloids, but that these proteins have a major role in the uptake, translocation, and extrusion of metalloids in plants. As most of the metalloid-permeable NIP aquaporins are impermeable or are poorly permeable to water, these NIP channel proteins should be considered as physiologically essential metalloido-porins.
authors.affiliation: Metalloid Transport Group, Department of Physiology and Cell Biology, Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research, Corrensstrasse 3, D-06466 Gatersleben, Germany. Electronic address: pommerrenig@ipk-gatersleben.de.
authors.forename: Benjamin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Pommerrenig
authors.affiliation: Metalloid Transport Group, Department of Physiology and Cell Biology, Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research, Corrensstrasse 3, D-06466 Gatersleben, Germany. Electronic address: diehn@ipk-gatersleben.de.
authors.forename: Till Arvid
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Diehn
authors.affiliation: Metalloid Transport Group, Department of Physiology and Cell Biology, Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research, Corrensstrasse 3, D-06466 Gatersleben, Germany. Electronic address: bienert@ipk-gatersleben.de.
authors.forename: Gerd Patrick
authors.initials: GP
authors.lastname: Bienert
mesh_terms: D001692:Biological Transport; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D058955:Metalloids / Q000378:metabolism*; D008954:Models, Biological; D010802:Phylogeny; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D018272:Porins / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D008565:Membrane Proteins; D058955:Metalloids; D010940:Plant Proteins; D018272:Porins; C045625:nodulin
keywords: Aquaporin; Arsenic; Boron; Metalloid transport; Nodulin 26-like intrinsic protein; Silicon