Current-voltage relationships for the plasma membrane and its principal electrogenic pump in Neurospora crassa: I. Steady-state conditions

Charge and acidity compensation during proton-sugar symport in Chlorella: The H(+)-ATPase does not fully compensate for the sugar-coupled proton influx

This study was undertaken in order to demonstrate the extent to which the activity of the plasmalemma H(+)-ATPase compensates for the charge and acidity flow caused by the sugar-proton symport in cells of chlorella vulgaris Beij.. Detailed analysis of H(+) and K(+) fluxes from and into the medium together with measurements of respiration, cytoplasmic pH, and cellular ATP-levels indicate three consecutive phases after the onset of H(+) symport. Phase 1 occurred immediately after addition of sugar, with an uptake of H(+) by the hexoseproton symport and charge compensation by K(+) loss from the cells and, to a smaller degree, by loss of another ion, probably a divalent cation. This phase coincided with strong membrane depolarization. Phase 2 started approximately 5 s after addition of sugar, when the acceleration of the H(+)-ATPase caused a slow-down of the K(+) efflux, a decrease in the cellular ATP level and an increase in respiration. The increased respiration was most probably responsible for a pronounced net acidification of the medium. This phase was inhibited in deuterium oxide. In phase 3, finally, a slow rate of net H(+) uptake and K(+) loss was established for several further minutes, together with a slight depolarization of the membrane. There was hardly any pH change in the cytoplasm, because the cytoplasmic buffering capacity was high enough to stabilize the pH for several minutes despite the net H(+) fluxes. The quantitative participation of the several phases of H(+) and K(+) flow depended on the pH of the medium, the ambient Ca(2+) concentration, and the metabolic fate of the transported sugar. The results indicate that the activity of the H(+)-ATPase never fully compensated for H(+) uptake by the sugar-symport system, because at least 10% of symport-caused charge inflow was compensated for by K(+) efflux. The restoration of pH in the cytoplasm and in the medium was probably achieved by metabolic reactions connected to increased glycolysis and respiration.

Transcellular ion currents and extension of Neurospora crassa hyphae

Hyphae of Neurospora crassa, like many other tip-growing organisms, drive endogenous electric currents through themselves such that positive charges flow into the apical region and exit from the trunk. In order to identify the ions that carry the current, the complete growth medium was replaced by media lacking various constituents. Omission of K+ or of phosphate diminished the zone of inward current, effectively shifting the current pattern towards the apex. Omission of glucose markedly reduced both inward and outward currents; addition of sodium azide virtually abolished the flow of electric current. Growing hyphae also generate a longitudinal pH gradient: the medium surrounding the apex is slightly more alkaline than the bulk phase, while medium adjacent to the trunk turns acid. The results suggest that Neurospora hyphae generate a proton current; protons are expelled distally by the H+-ATPase and return into the apical region by a number of pathways, including the symport of protons with phosphate and potassium ions. Calcium influx may also contribute to the electric current that enters the apical region. There seems to be no simple obligatory linkage between the intensity of the transcellular electric current and the rate of hyphal extension. Calcium ions, however, are required in micromolar concentrations for extensions and morphogenesis of hyphal tips.

Mechanisms of fusicoccin action: A dominant role for secondary transport in a higher-plant cell

Fusicoccin (FC) is commonly thought to promote "electrogenic" H(+) extrusion through its action on the H(+)-ATPase of the plant plasma membrane. Nonetheless, essential support from rigorous electrophysiological analysis has remained largely absent. The present investigation surveys the effects of FC on the charge transport properties at the membrane of a higher-plant cell - stomatal guard cells of Vicia faba L. - for which the electrical geometry is defined, and from which the voltage-dependent kinetic characteristic for the pump has been identified. Current-voltage (I-V) relations of the guard cells were determined before and during treatments with FC, and during brief exposures to NaCN plus salicylhydroxamic acid. Responses of the pump and of the ensemble of secondary transport processes were identified in the whole-membrane conductance-voltage relations and in the difference-current-voltage (dI-V) characteristic for the pump. In 0.1 mM K(+), exposure to 10 μM FC shifted guard-cell potentials negative by 29-61 mV. Current-and conductance-voltage profiles indicated limited changes in the pump I-V characteristic, an observation which was confirmed through explicit kinetic analysis of pump dI-V relations. However, the voltage response was accompanied by a 1.5-to 2.6-fold fall in membrane conductance. These results challenge conventional views of fusicoccin action by ascribing the electrical responses to reduced current passage through secondary transport pathways as well as to enhanced electrogenic ion pumping.

Potassium-proton symport in Neurospora: kinetic control by pH and membrane potential

Active transport of potassium in K+-starved Neurospora was previously shown to resemble closely potassium uptake in yeast, Chlorella, and higher plants, for which K+ pumps or K+/H+-ATPases had been proposed. For Neurospora, however, potassium-proton cotransport was demonstrated to operate, with a coupling ratio of 1 H+ to 1 K+ taken inward so that K+, but not H+, moves against its electrochemical gradient (Rodriguez-Navarro et al., J. Gen. Physiol. 87:649-674). In the present experiments, the current-voltage (I-V) characteristic of K+-H+ cotransport in spherical cells of Neurospora has been studied with a voltage-clamp technique, using difference-current methods to dissect it from other ion-transport processes in the Neurospora plasma membrane. Addition of 5-200 microM K+ to the bathing medium causes 10-150 mV depolarization of the unclamped membrane, and yields a sigmoid I-V curve with a steep slope (maximal conductance of 10-30 microS/cm2) for voltages of -300 to -100 mV, i.e., in the normal physiologic range. Outside that range the apparent I-V curve of the K+-H+ symport saturates for both hyperpolarization and depolarization. It fails to cross the voltage axis at its predicted reversal potential, however, an effect which can be attributed to failure of the I-V difference method under reversing conditions. In the absence of voltage clamping, inhibitors-such as cyanide or vanadate-which block the primary proton pump in Neurospora also promptly inhibit K+ transport and K+-H+ currents. But when voltage clamping is used to offset the depolarizing effects of pump blockade, the inhibitors have no immediate effect on K+-H+ currents. Thus, the inhibition of K+ transport usually observed with these agents reflects the kinetic effect of membrane depolarization rather than any direct chemical action or the cotransport system itself. Detailed study of the effects of [K+]o and pHo on the I-V curve for K+-H+ symport has revealed that increasing membrane potential systematically decreases the apparent affinity of the transporter for K+, but increases affinity for protons (Km range: for [K+]o, 15-45 microM; for [H+]o, 10-35 nM). This behavior is consistent with two distinct reaction-kinetic models, in which (i) a neutral carrier binds K+ first and H+ last in the forward direction of transport, or (ii) a negatively charged carrier (-2) binds H+ first and K+ last.

Role of "active" potassium transport in the regulation of cytoplasmic pH by nonanimal cells

High-affinity potassium uptake in Neurospora occurs by symport with protons [Km (apparent) = 15 microM at pH 5.8], for which a large inward gradient (approximately 400 mV) is generated by the H+-extruding ATPase of the plasma membrane. Operating in parallel, the two transport systems yield a net 1:1 exchange of K+ for cytoplasmic H+. Since this exchange could play a role in cytoplasmic pH (pHi) regulation, the coordinated functioning of the K+-H+ symport and H+ pump has been examined during acid stress. Cytoplasmic acid loads were imposed by injection and by exposure to extracellular permeant weak acid. Multibarrelled microelectrodes were used to monitor membrane potential (Vm), pHi, and the current-voltage (I-V) characteristics of the cells. The behaviors of the H+ pump and K+-H+ symport were resolved, respectively, by fitting whole membrane I-V curves to an explicit kinetic model of the Neurospora membrane and by subtracting I-V curves obtained in the absence from those obtained in the presence of 5-200 microM K+ outside. Proton pumping accelerates nearly in proportion with the cytoplasmic H+ concentration, but pHi recovery from imposed acid loads is dependent on micromolar K+ outside. Potassium import via the symport leads to a measurable alkalinization of the cytoplasm in accordance with stoichiometric (1:1) K+/H+ exchange. Potassium transport is accelerated at low pHi, but in a manner consistent with its inherent voltage sensitivity and changes in Vm resulting from an increased rate of H+ extrusion by the pump. The primary response to acid stress thus rests with the H+ pump, but K+ transport introduces an essential kinetic "valve" that can regulate net H+ export.

The plasma membrane ATPase of Neurospora: a proton-pumping electroenzyme

Probably the best marker enzyme for plasma membranes of eukaryotic cells is a magnesium-dependent, vanadate-inhibited ATPase whose primary function is the transmembrane transport of cations. In animal cells, different species of the enzyme transport different cations: sodium ions released in unequal exchange for potassium ions, calcium ions extruded alone (perhaps), or protons secreted in equal exchange for potassium ions. But in plants and fungi only proton secretion has been clearly demonstrated. A useful model cell for studying the proton-secreting ATPase has been the ascomycete fungus Neurospora, in which the enzyme drives an outward current of protons that can exceed 50 microA/cm2 and can support membrane potentials greater than 300 mV. Both thermodynamic and kinetic studies have shown that the proton-pumping ATPase of Neurospora normally transports only a single proton for each ATP molecule split; and kinetic modelling studies have suggested (contrary to conventional assumptions) that the fast steps in the overall reaction are transmembrane transit of the proton and its dissociation following transport, while the slow steps are the binding of protons and/or ATP. The primary structure of the Neurospora enzyme, recently deduced by gene sequencing, is very close to that of the yeast (Saccharomyces) enzyme, and the hydropathic patterns for both closely resemble those for the animal-cell plasma-membrane ATPases. All of these enzymes appear to have 6-10 membrane-spanning alpha-helices, plus a large cytoplasmic headgroup which bears the catalytic nucleotide-binding site. Structural data, taken together with the electrical-kinetic behavior, suggest that the catalytic headgroup functions as an energized gate for protons. From a geometric point of view, action of such a gate would transfer the membrane field across the "transported" ion, rather than vice versa.

Electrophysiological properties of Achlya hyphae: ionic currents studied by intracellular potential recording

The electrical properties of the water mold Achlya bisexualis were investigated using intracellular microelectrodes. Hyphae growing in a defined medium maintained a membrane potential (Vm) of -150 to -170 mV, interior negative. Under the conditions used here, this potential was insensitive to changes in the inorganic ion composition of the medium. Changes in external pH did affect Vm, but only outside the physiological pH range. By contrast, the addition of respiratory inhibitors caused a rapid depolarization without affecting the conductance of the plasma membrane. Taken together these findings strongly suggest that the membrane potential is governed by an electrogenic ion pump rather than by an ionic diffusion potential. Previous work from this laboratory showed that Achlya hyphae generate a transcellular proton current that enters the growing tip, flows along the hyphal length, and exits distally from the trunk. These initial experiments used an extracellular vibrating electrode, and I now report intracellular electrical recordings which support the hypothesis that protons enter the tip by symport with amino acids and are expelled distally by a proton-translocating ATPase. Most significantly, current flowing intracellularly along the hyphal length is associated with a cytoplasmic electric field of 0.2 V/cm or greater. Conditions that inhibit the current also abolish the internal field, suggesting that these two phenomena are closely linked.

Interpretation of steady-state current-voltage curves: consequences and implications of current subtraction in transport studies

A problem often confronted in analyses of charge-carrying transport processes in vivo lies in identifying porter-specific component currents and their dependence on membrane potential. Frequently, current-voltage (I-V)--or more precisely, difference-current-voltage (dI-V)--relations, both for primary and for secondary transport processes, have been extracted from the overall membrane current-voltage profiles by subtracting currents measured before and after experimental manipulations expected to alter the porter characteristics only. This paper examines the consequences of current subtraction within the context of a generalized kinetic carrier model for Class I transport mechanisms (U.-P. Hansen, D. Gradmann, D. Sanders and C.L. Slayman, 1981, J. Membrane Biol. 63:165-190). Attention is focused primarily on dI-V profiles associated with ion-driven secondary transport for which external solute concentrations usually serve as the experimental variable, but precisely analogous results and the same conclusions are indicated in relation to studies of primary electrogenesis. The model comprises a single transport loop linking n (3 or more) discrete states of a carrier 'molecule.' State transitions include one membrane charge-transport step and one solute-binding step. Fundamental properties of dI-V relations are derived analytically for all n-state formulations by analogy to common experimental designs. Additional features are revealed through analysis of a "reduced" 2-state empirical form, and numerical examples, computed using this and a "minimum" 4-state formulation, illustrate dI-V curves under principle limiting conditions. Class I models generate a wide range of dI-V profiles which can accommodate essentially all of the data now extant for primary and secondary transport systems, including difference current relations showing regions of negative slope conductance. The particular features exhibited by the curves depend on the relative magnitudes and orderings of reaction rate constants within the transport loop. Two distinct classes of dI-V curves result which reflect the relative rates of membrane charge transit and carrier recycling steps. Also evident in difference current relations are contributions from 'hidden' carrier states not directly associated with charge translocation in circumstances which can give rise to observations of counterflow or exchange diffusion. Conductance-voltage relations provide a semi-quantitative means to obtaining pairs of empirical rate parameters.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Potassium channels in Eremosphaera viridis : II. Current- and voltage-clamp experiments

To characterize the assumed potassium channels in the plasma membrane of the green alga Eremosphaera viridis (Köhler et al. 1985), current-voltage (I/V)-curves under resting conditions and during an action-potential-like response (CAP) were constructed using voltage- and current-clamp techniques. Under resting conditions the I/V-curves of Eremosphaera showed a distinct upward bending when approaching zero mV, a nearly straight line in the medium part and a downward bending during strong hyperpolarization. Measurements in light and darkness frequently displayed a parallel shift of the I/V-curve in the middle part, indicating a current source which is slowed down by light-off. Using the voltage-clamp technique, N-shaped I/V-curves were sometimes observed. The potassium concentration outside influenced the downward-bending part of the I/V-curve whereas the tetraethylammonium cation, known to block potassium channels, reduced the upward-bending part in particular. A change in external pH, either to pH 7 or pH 3.1 from a standard pH 5.5, caused an increase in conductivity. Chemically induced action potentials were released in Eremosphaera under voltage-clamp conditions by light-off and there was both a current flow and an increase in conductivity during the CAP. Clamping the membrane potential at a value more negative than Nernst potential of potassium revealed an inward current, whereas clamping at a more-positive value revealed an outward current. The experiments demonstrate that there is no threshold potential in releasing a CAP. The I/V-curves performed under current clamp at the peak of CAP verify a previously found increased conductivity with hyper- or depolarization depending on the external potassium concentration. These experiments provide further evidence that in Eremosphaera potassium channels are involved in the CAP caused by a light-off signal. Additional experiments indicate that after light-off a transient acidification of the cytoplasm takes place in correlation with the CAP and the opening of potassium channels. A preliminary "battery model" is discussed to understand the role of potassium channels during a CAP in pH-regulation of the cytoplasm.

Electrogenic active proton pump in Rana esculenta skin and its role in sodium ion transport

Kinetic and electrophysiological studies were carried out in the in vitro Rana esculenta skin, bathed in dilute sodium solution, to characterize the proton pump and coupling between sodium absorption (JNa+n) and proton excretion (JH+n). JNa+n and JH+n were both dependent on transepithelial potential (psi ms); hyperpolarizing the skin decreased JNa+n and increased JH+n; depolarization produced the opposite effects. Amiloride (5 X 10(-5) M) at a clamped psi ms of +50 mV inhibited JNa+n without affecting JH+n. Variations of psi ms or pH had identical effects on JH+n. Ethoxzolamide inhibited JH+n and simultaneously increased psi ms by 15-30 mV. These changes were accompanied by depolarization of the apical membrane potential psi mc from -47 to -25 mV and an increase in apical membrane resistance of 30%; no significant effects on basolateral membrane potential (psi cs) and resistance (Rb) nor on shunt resistance (Rj) were observed. The proton pump appears to be localized at the apical membrane. The proton pump was also inhibited by deoxygenation, oligomycin, dicyclohexylcarbodiimide and vanadate (100, 78, 83 and 100% inhibition respectively). The variations of JH+n and of the measured electrical currents were significantly correlated. These findings are supportive evidence of a primary active proton pump, electrogenic and strictly linked to aerobic metabolism. The current-voltage (I-V) relation of the proton pump was obtained as the difference in the I-V curves of the apical membrane extracted before and after proton-pump inhibition by ethoxzolamide during amiloride block of sodium transport. The proton-pump current (IP) was best described by a saturable exponential function of psi mc. Maximal pump current (ImaxP) was calculated to be 200 nequiv h-1 cm-2 at a psi mc of +50 mV and the pump reversal potential ERP was -130 mV. The effect of ethoxzolamide to depolarize psi mc was dependent on the relation between psi mc and ERP. Maximal induced depolarization occurred at a psi mc of +50 mV whereas ethoxzolamide exerted minimal effect on psi mc when the ERP was approached either by voltage clamping the apical membrane or by the addition of amiloride. We show that electroneutral sodium-proton countertransport is not the mechanism of active proton excretion in frog skin but that it is the proton excretion which provides a favourable electrical driving force for passive apical sodium entry.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Nonlinear equivalent circuits for membranes

The problem of obtaining Helmholtz equivalents for nonlinear resistive one-ports is considered. Two fundamentally different classes of equivalent are described, one local and the other global. For each, necessary and sufficient conditions are derived for the existence and uniqueness of either the Thévenin equivalent or the Norton equivalent or both. These concepts are illustrated (i) by proving that a cell whose channels and pumps are monotone in the membrane potential will, in the absence of net state changes in these ionophores, possess a unique stable resting potential and (ii) by demonstrating that it is in principle impossible to assign unique equivalent circuits to such ionophores.

Stoichiometry of H+/amino acid cotransport in Neurospora crassa revealed by current-voltage analysis

Coupling of ions to the uptake of neutral and basic amino acids via a general amino acid transport system (System II), was studied in a mutant of Neurospora crassa (bat mtr) which lacks other transport systems for these solutes. All amino acids tested--including ones bearing no net charge--elicited rapid membrane depolarization, as expected for ion-coupled transport. (Since amino acid transport in Neurospora is not dependent on extracellular Na+ or K+, the associated ion is presumed to be H+.) Although the 14C-labeled amino acid fluxes through System II are largely independent of the identity of the amino acid, the depolarization caused by basic amino acids (L-lysine and L-ornithine) is 60-70% greater than that for neutral amino acids (e.g. L-leucine). This difference is consistent with a constant H+/amino acid stoichiometry of 2, the extra charge for lysine and ornithine being that on the amino acid itself, so that the charge ratio basic:neutral amino acids is 3:2. When actual membrane charge flow associated with amino acid uptake was compared with measured 14C-labeled amino acid influx, ratios of 2.07 charges/mol L-leucine and 3.40 charges/mol L-lysine were obtained, again in accord with a constant translocation stoichiometry of 2H+/amino acid. The advantages of this electrical method for estimating H+/solute stoichiometry in cotransport are discussed in relation to more familiar methods.

Electrical properties of the plasma membrane of microplasmodia of Physarum polycephalum

Microplasmodia of Physarum polycephalum have been investigated by conventional electrophysiological techniques. In standard medium (30 mM K+, 4 mM Ca++, 3 mM Mg++, 18 mM citrate buffer, pH 4.7, 22 degrees C), the transmembrane potential difference Vm is around -100 mV and the membrane resistance about 0.25 omega m2. Vm is insensitive to light and changes of the Na+/K+ ratio in the medium. Without bivalent cations in the medium and/or in presence of metabolic inhibitors (CCCP, CN-, N3-), Vm drops to about 0 mV. Under normal conditions, Vm is very sensitive to external pH (pH0), displaying an almost Nernstian slope at pH0 = 3. However, when measured during metabolic inhibition, Vm shows no sensitivity to pH0 over the range 3 to 6, only rising (about 50 mV/pH) at pH0 = 6. Addition of glucose or sucrose (but not mannitol or sorbitol) causes rapid depolarization, which partially recovers over the next few minutes. Half-maximal peak depolarization (25 mV with glucose) was achieved with 1 mM of the sugar. Sugar-induced depolarization was insensitive to pH0. The results are discussed on the basis of Class-I models of charge transport across biomembranes (Hansen, Gradmann, Sanders and Slayman, 1981, J. Membrane Biol. 63:165-190). Three transport systems are characterized: 1) An electrogenic H+ extrusion pump with a stoichiometry of 2 H+ per metabolic energy equivalent. The deprotonated form of the pump seems to be negatively charged. 2) In addition to the passive K+ pathways, there is a passive H+ transport system; here the protonated form seems to be positively charged. 3) A tentative H+-sugar cotransport system operates far from thermodynamic equilibrium, carrying negative charge in its deprotonated states.

Electrogenic proton transport in epithelial membranes

Certain polar epithelial cells have strong transport capacities for protons and can be examined in vitro as part of an intact epithelial preparation. Recent studies in the isolated turtle bladder and other tight urinary epithelial indicate that the apical membranes of the carbonic anhydrase-containing cell population of these tissues contain an electrogenic proton pump which has the characteristics of a proton-translocating ATPase. The translocation of protons is tightly coupled to the energy of ATP hydrolysis. Since the pump translocates protons without coupling to the movement of other ions, it may be regarded as an "ideal" electrogenic pump. The apparent simplicity of the functional properties has led to extensive studies of the characteristics of this pump and of the cellular organization of the secondary acid-base flows in the turtle bladder. Over a rather wide range of electrochemical potential gradients, for protons (delta approximately microH) across the epithelium, the rate of H+ transport is nearly linear with delta approximately microH. The formalisms of equivalent circuit analysis and nonequilibrium thermodynamics have been useful in describing the behavior of the pump, but these approaches have obvious limitations. We have attempted to overcome some of these limitations by developing a more detailed set of assumptions about each of the transport step across the pump complex and to formulate a working model for proton transport in the turtle bladder than can account for several otherwise unexplained experimental results. The model suggests that the real pump is neither a simple electromotive force nor a constant current source. Depending on the conditions, it may behave as one or the other.

Role of the plasma membrane proton pump in pH regulation in non-animal cells

Possible methods by which eukaryotic cells can regulate intracellular pH (pHi) in response to experimental acid loading were investigated by using as a model cell the fungus Neurospora. Attention was focused on the role of membrane transport in such regulation, starting from the fact that this organism possesses a powerful electrogenic proton extrusion pump. Intracellular acidification was forced by introducing butyric acid into the recording medium, and subsequent changes in pHi and membrane potential were determined with intracellular microelectrodes. In separate experiments, membrane current-voltage curves were obtained and resolved--by an explicit kinetic model--into distinct pump and leak components. Decreased pHi causes increased outward pumping of H+ ions, in a manner quantitatively consistent with their role as a substrate for the proton pump. This increased pumping is often manifest as a transient hyperpolarization at the onset of cytoplasmic acidification. With a considerably slower time course, decreased pHi also produces a large increase in membrane leak conductance, which brings about net membrane depolarization and further stimulates the pump (by virtue of the reduced back electromotive force). Although the identity of the ion responsible for increased leak conductance is not yet known, the evident modulation of conductance seemingly plays an important role in stabilizing the intracellular pH: Stimulation of the pump alone would have little net effect on pHi because it would result simply in enhanced backflux of H+ (to which the membrane is most permeable in normal circumstances). An increased leak to nonprotons, however, would allow the pump to accomplish net H+ ejection.

Energy source for lithium efflux in yeast

The efflux of Li+ in yeast was found to depend on the protonmotive force. The ATP content of the cell regulated the efflux that was also sensitive to the decrease in the cell pH. We propose an electrogenic H+/Li+ antiport as the mechanism for the efflux of Li+.

Dependence of the membrane potential of Chara cells on external pH in the presence or absence of internal adenosinetriphosphate

The dependence of the membrane potential (Em) and the membrane resistance (Rm) of Chara australis R. Brown on the pH of the external medium (pH0) was studied by controlling the activity of the plasmamembrane H(+) pump under both light and dark conditions. The activity of the pump was controlled by regulating the internal ATP or Mg(2+) concentration in tonoplast-free cells prepared by vacuolar perfusion. In these cells, which contained Mg · ATP (mgATP cells), Em and Rm were very sensitive to pH0, as in normal cells. Em was more negative in light than in the dark at all pH0 values tested. Tonoplast-free cells with very low [ATP]i (-ATP cells) or [Mg(2+)]i (-Mg cells) showed very weak dependence of Em and Rm on pH0. Thus, the active and not the passive component of Em was sensitive to pH0. At the same time, the high permeability of the plasma membrane to H(+) was questioned. In both-ATP cells and-Mg cells, Em was scarcely affected and Rm markedly decreased on illumination.

The role of electrogenic pump in Chara corallina

The conductance, G, and the electromotive force, E, of the Chara membrane were determined accurately by using the current-clamp technique. The measurements at the final steady state of inhibitor poisoning give the conductance, g1, and the electromotive force, E1, of the passive ion conducting pathways. By knowing these values the conductance, g2, and the electromotive force, E2, of the electrogenic pump can be calculated from the measured G and E at each time during the progress of inhibitor poisoning. The local closed circuit current, i, which usually causes a hyperpolarization across the passive conducting pathways, can be calculated by using g1, g2, E1 and E2 thus determined. The values of g2 and i decrease monotonically to zero with the progress of poisoning, while E2 approaches E1 asymptotically after a transient hyperpolarization. During excitation i increases markedly. Such an increased inward current through the passive conducting pathways may help in accelerating the inactivation of the excitatory mechanism.

Metabolic modulation of stoichiometry in a proton pump

The current-voltage characteristics of the ATP-dependent proton pump in the plasma membrane of Neurospora have been explored under varied metabolic conditions imposed by mutation and by differential respiratory inhibition. The reversal potential, or presumed equilibrium potential, for the pump was observed at about -400 mV under energy-replete conditions, and at about -200 mV during a stable metabolic downshift of 55 percent. Steady-state levels of adenine nucleotides and inorganic phosphate, however, were not affected by this partial energy restriction, so that under both normal and restricted conditions the apparent free energy of ATP hydrolysis remained near -500 mV. The results suggest that a normal pump stoichiometry of 1 H+ extruded/1 ATP split is modified to 2 H+/1 ATP, by chronic energy restriction.

Voltage-current relation and K+ transport in tobacco hornworm (Manduca sexta) midgut

Voltage-current curves for the isolated midgut of the tobacco hornworm were determined by transient and steady voltage clamping over the range of 200 to -200 mV. Over this range the transient method yields a linear relation while the steady method usually yields a curve consisting of two lines of differing slope which intersect at zero voltage. The difference between the results of the methods is due to a slow decline in total conductance which accompanies steady voltage clamping. Holding the midgut at short circuit increases the total conductance of the tissue in a manner consistent with increasing shunt conductance; this effect was seen in both diet-reared and leaf-reared animals. When potassium transport is inhibited by substitution of choline or sodium for potassium in bathing solution the total conductance decreases and the voltage-current curve intersects the normal curve in the hyperpolarizing region. Applying a simple equivalent circuit analysis to the results from partial or total potassium replacement suggests that the electromotive force of the potassium transport system is of the order of 140-190 mV. The conductance decrease during inhibition of potassium transport by transient anoxia is of similar magnitude, suggesting that a major effect of metabolic inhibition is to decrease the active conductance of the potassium transport pathway.

Effect of ATPase inhibitors on the proton pump of respiratory-deficient yeast

Diethylstilbestrol and dicyclohexylcarbodiimide inhibit the ATPase of the plasma membranes and the proton-pumping activity of the cells in a respiratory-deficient mutant of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The effects of the inhibitors in vivo seem to be specific because neither the proton permeability nor the ATPase levels of the cells are affected. These results indicate that the yeast plasma-membrane ATPase corresponds to the proton pump of the cells. The fact that both inhibitors of the ATPase delay the fall of ATP levels which follows a block of fermentation indicates that ATPase function is one of the major ATP-consuming pathways in yeast. In addition, diethylstilbestrol prevents the fall of ATP levels produced by dinitrophenol, suggesting that this fall was caused by partial dissipation of the proton gradient and consequent stimulation of the proton-pumping ATPase.

A channel mechanism for electrogenic ion pumps

A model of active ion transport is analyzed in which an essential part of the pumps molecule is an ion channel. Ion translocation in the channel is described as a series of jumps between binding sites which are separated by energy barriers. Pumping action results from a transient energy-dependent modification of the barrier structure of the channel and requires only minor conformational changes of the pump molecule. This model is applied to the light-driven proton pump of Halobacterium and to redox-coupled proton pumps in the mitochondrial respiratory chain. Similar considerations may be used to describe ATP-dependent ion transport.