In addition to the structural matrices of the cell wall,
another important contributor to texture and fruit firmness is
cellular turgor. Cellular turgor is governed by the water status
within fruit and the relative water distribution within the cell
and in the cell wall (Seymour et al., 2013). Water transport
across biological membranes is facilitated by water channel
proteins called aquaporins (Chrispeels and Maurel, 1994).
Aquaporin proteins during ripening regulate the passage of
water from the symplast to the apoplast, which would presumably
also affect water movement out of the cell