Water is essential for all living organisms. Aquaporin proteins are the major facilitator of water transport activity through cell membranes of plants including soybean. These proteins are diverse in plants and belong to a large major intrinsic (MIP) protein family. In higher plants, MIPs are classified into five subfamilies including plasma membrane intrinsic proteins (PIP), tonoplast intrinsic proteins (TIP), NOD26-like intrinsic proteins (NIP), small basic intrinsic proteins (SIP), and the recently discovered X intrinsic proteins (XIP). This paper reports genome wide assembly of soybean MIPs, their functional prediction and expression analysis. Using a bioinformatic homology search, 66 GmMIPs were identified in the soybean genome. Phylogenetic analysis of amino acid sequences of GmMIPs divided the large and highly similar multi-gene family into 5 subfamilies: GmPIPs, GmTIPs, GmNIPs, GmSIPs and GmXIPs. GmPIPs consisted of 22 genes and GmTIPs 23, which showed high sequence similarity within subfamilies. GmNIPs contained 13 and GmSIPs 6 members which were diverse. In addition, we also identified a two member GmXIP, a distinct 5th subfamily. GmMIPs were further classified into twelve subgroups based on substrate selectivity filter analysis. Expression analyses were performed for a selected set of GmMIPs using semi-quantitative reverse transcription (semi-RT-qPCR) and qPCR. Our results suggested that many GmMIPs have high sequence similarity but diverse roles as evidenced by analysis of sequences and their expression. It can be speculated that GmMIPs contains true aquaporins, glyceroporins, aquaglyceroporins and mixed transport facilitators.

A serious wilt disease has recently been found on Prosopis cineraria (Ghaf) in Oman and on Dalbergia sissoo (Shisham) in Pakistan. Disease symptoms on both these native, leguminous hosts include vascular discolouration and partial or complete wilt of affected trees. A species of Ceratocystis was consistently isolated from symptomatic material. Morphological comparisons and analyses of DNA sequence data of the ITS, β-tubulin, and EF 1-α gene regions showed that the Ceratocystis isolates obtained from both tree species represent C. manginecans. This is the same pathogen that is causing the devastating mango sudden decline disease in Oman and Pakistan. This is also the same pathogen that has been reported causing a wilting disease on Acacia mangium in Indonesia. Cross inoculation with C. manginecans isolates from P. cineraria, D. sissoo and mango showed that the fungus can cause disease on all three trees.

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