Seeds are the typical dispersal and propagation units of angiosperms and gymnosperms. Water movement into and out of seeds plays a crucial role from the point of fertilization through to imbibition and seed germination. A class of membrane intrinsic proteins called aquaporins (AQPs) assist with the movement of water and other solutes within seeds. These highly diverse and abundant proteins are associated with different processes in the development, longevity, imbibition, and germination of seed. However, there are many AQPs encoded in a plant's genome and it is not yet clear how, when, or which AQPs are involved in critical stages of seed biology. Here we review the literature to examine the evidence for AQP involvement in seeds and analyse Arabidopsis seed-related transcriptomic data to assess which AQPs are likely to be important in seed water relations and explore additional roles for AQPs in seed biology.

中文翻译：

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破译水通道蛋白的调控及其在种子生物学中的作用。

种子是被子植物和裸子植物的典型传播和繁殖单位。从施肥到吸水和种子发芽，水分进入和离开种子的运动起着至关重要的作用。一类称为水通道蛋白（AQP）的膜内在蛋白有助于种子中水和其他溶质的运动。这些高度多样化和丰富的蛋白质与种子的发育，寿命，吸收和发芽的不同过程相关。但是，植物基因组中编码有许多AQP，尚不清楚种子生物学关键阶段如何，何时或哪种AQP参与其中。