Structural and evolutionary divergence of aquaporins in parasites

Aquaporins are ubiquitous proteins that belong to the major intrinsic protein family. Previous studies have indicated that aquaporins are involved in multiple physiological processes in parasites, such as nutrient absorption and end product efflux, and thus, would be promising pharmacological agents in the fight against parasite infection. In the present paper, the authors analyzed the evolutionary relationship of parasitic aquaporins by re-constructing of a phylogenic tree using neighbor-joining and maximum likelihood methods. In addition, the authors discussed the variation of the conserved functional sites impacting on the transportation of water molecules. The protein was concluded to be a potential drug target in parasites.