Abstract
NIPs, a member of the major intrinsic protein family, are homologues of NOD26 protein, and specific for plants. NIPs functions as channels of small uncharged molecules such as glycerol as well as water. Boron in solution mostly exists as an uncharged boric acid at neutral pH. Boric acid is the chemical form of B that is taken up by plants. It is possible that NIPs also transport boric acid. We previously reported that a member of NIP gene family, was strongly induced by boron deficiency. We will report updates of the analysis of Arabidopsis thaliana T-DNA insertion lines of NIPs, born transport activities of NIPs using yeast transformants. We obtained evidence suggesting that another member of NIPs which is not induced by born deficiency plays a role in boron transport in planta.
