New Insights into Aquaporin Evolution and Physiology in Eukaryotic Organisms: Introduction to a Virtual Symposium in The Biological Bulletin

Water is the solvent of life, and consequently the control of water homeostasis is vital for the survival of any organ- ism. The mechanisms involved in water transport across biological barriers have long been the subject of physiolog- ical investigations. However, although membrane water channels were predicted to exist as early as the 1970s, it was not until 1992 that the first aquaporin water channel was serendipitously discovered by Peter Agre and collaborators (Preston et al ., 1992. Science 256 : 385–387), for which Agre was later awarded the 2003 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. http://www.biolbull.org/content/229/1/3.full.pdf