Reversible inactivation of K+ channels of Vicia stomatal guard cells following the photolysis of caged inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate

Membrane transport in stomatal guard cells: the importance of voltage control

Potassium uptake and export in the resting conditions and in response to the phytohormone abscisic acid (ABA) were examined under voltage clamp in guard cells of Vicia faba L. In 0.1 mM external K+ (with 5 mM Ca2(+)-HEPES, pH 7.4) two distinct transport states could be identified based on the distribution of the free-running membrane voltage (VM) data in conjunction with the respective I-V and G-V relations. One state was dominated by passive diffusion (mean VM = -143 +/- 4 mV), the other (mean VM = -237 +/- 10 mV) exhibited an appreciable background of primary H+ transport activity. In the presence of pump activity the free-running membrane voltage was negative of the respective K+ equilibrium potential (EK+), in 3 and 10 mM external K+. In these cases VM was also negative of the activation voltage for the inward rectifying K+ current, thus creating a strong bias for passive K+ uptake through inward-rectifying K+ channels. In contrast, when pump activity was absent VM was situated positive of EK+ and cells revealed a bias for K+ efflux. Occasionally spontaneous voltage transitions were observed during which cells switched between the two states. Rapid depolarizations were induced in cells with significant pump activity upon adding 10 microM ABA to the medium. These depolarizations activated current through outward-rectifying K+ channels which was further amplified in ABA by a rise in the ensemble channel conductance. Current-voltage characteristics recorded before and during ABA treatments revealed concerted modulations in current passage through at least four distinct transport processes, results directly comparable to one previous study (Blatt, M.R., 1990, Planta 180:445) carried out with guard cells lacking detectable primary pump activity. Comparative analyses of guard cells in each case are consistent with depolarizations resulting from the activation of an inward-going, as yet unidentified current, rather than an ABA-induced fall in H(+)-ATPase output. Also observed in a number of cells was an inward-directed current which activated in ABA over a narrow range of voltages positive of -150 mV; this and additional features of the current suggest that it may reflect the ABA-dependent activation of an anion channel previously characterized in Vicia guard cell protoplasts, but rule out its function as the primary mechanism for initial depolarization.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Inositol polyphosphate metabolism and inositol lipids in a green alga, Chlamydomonas eugametos

Swimming suspensions of Chlamydomonas eugametos were pelleted and homogenized, and the metabolism of inositol polyphosphates by cellular homogenates or supernatants was investigated. Ins(1,4,5)P3 was dephosphorylated under physiological conditions to yield a single InsP2, Ins(1,4]2. In the presence of ATP it was phosphorylated to give Ins(1,3,4,5)P3 as the only InsP4. The Ins(1,4,5)P3 3-kinase activity was predominantly soluble, was not detectably affected by calmodulin or Ca2+, and had a Km for Ins(1,4,5)P3 of 50 microM (two orders of magnitude higher than its mammalian counterpart). Ins(1,3,4,5)P4 was dephosphorylated by the cellular supernatants to Ins(1,3,4)P3 and Ins(1,4,5)P3, and could be phosphorylated to Ins(1,3,4,5,6)P4. No Ins(1,3,4)P3 6-kinase activity could be detected, and experiments with [3H]Ins(1,4,[32P]5)P3 revealed that Ins(1,3,4,5,6)P5 is formed from Ins(1,4,5)P3 with little loss of the 5-phosphate, i.e. the predominant route of synthesis is probably by a direct 6-phosphorylation of Ins(1,3,4,5)P4. Similar experiments with an (NH4)2SO4 fraction of turkey erythrocyte cytosol gave essentially the same result, i.e. direct phosphorylation of Ins(1,3,4,5)P4 in the 6 position is the predominant route of synthesis of InsP5 from that InsP4 in vitro. No InsP6 formation was detected in any of these experiments, but labelling of intact C. eugametos with [3H]inositol revealed that the cells do synthesize InsP6. The lipids of C. eugametos cells contain PtdIns, PtdIns(4)P and PtdIns(4,5)P2 [Irvine, Letcher, Lander, Drøbak, Dawson & Musgrave (1989) Plant Physiol. 64, 888-892]. Further examination of 32P-labelled lipids revealed that about 20% of the PtdInsP was the PtdIns(3)P isomer, and about 1% or less of the PtdInsP2 was the PtdIns(3,4)P2 isomer. The overall inositide metabolism of C. eugametos resembles that of a mammalian cell more closely than it does that of a plant cell or slime mould, and this suggests firstly that the known metabolism of inositol polyphosphates arose at an early time in eukaryotic evolution, and secondly that Chlamydomonas might prove a useful organism for genetic and comparative studies of inositide enzymology.

Mechanisms of action of abscisic acid at the cellular level

Abscisic acid (ABA) has been implicated in the control of a diverse range of physiological processes in higher plants. In this review, we focus on the events which constitute the cellular responses to ABA. Current evidence suggests that it is possible to classify the responses to ABA on the basis of whether they are rapid, involving ion fluxes (typified by the stomatal response), or slower and requiring alterations to gene expression (for example the response of cereal embryos to ABA). In our consideration of ABA stimulus response coupling pathways, we have chosen to highlight the role of the calcium ion in the rapid responses, while we have concentrated on the contribution of as-acting elements and trans-acting factors in the regulation of ABA-responsive genes. We also draw attention to the possibility that interaction may exist between these pathways. Additionally, we discuss the controls of ABA concentrations during development and in response to environmental stimuli. Factors which contribute to the controls of ABA sensitivity are also reviewed. In our conclusions, we suggest that a general role for ABA may be to prepare tissue for entry into a new and different physiological state, perhaps by resetting the direction of cellular metabolism. CONTENTS Summary 9 I. Introduction 10 II. Stimulus response coupling 17 Synopsis 27 Acknowledgements 28 References 28.

Polyphosphoinositol lipids in Chlamydomonas eugametos gametes

In Chlamydomonas eugametos gametes, phosphatidylinositol 4-phosphate (PtdInsP) and phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PtdInsP2) comprised 0.4 and 0.3% of the whole-cell phospholipids. They were concentrated in the plasma membrane around the cell body and were present in low concentrations in the flagellar membrane. When gametes were fed (32)PO 4 (-) , the label was rapidly incorporated into PtdInsP and PtdInsP2 and only slowly incorporated into structural lipids such as phosphatidylethanolamine and phosphatidylglycerol. Similarly, when a pulse of (32)PO 4 (-) was chased with PO 4 (-) , the label was rapidly lost from the polyphosphoinositol lipids but not from the structural lipids. The major fatty acids in the polyphosphoinositides were C-22 carbon polyenoic acids (70%). The significance of these results in relationship to intracellular signalling via inositol phosphates and Ca(2+) is discussed.

Diacylglycerols induce both ion pumping in patch-clamped guard-cell protoplasts and opening of intact stomata

Stomatal guard cells in leaves regulate the apertures of microscopic pores through which photosynthetic gas exchange and water vapor loss occur. Environmental signals, including light, high humidity, and low CO2 concentrations, open stomata by increasing the volume of guard cells. Activation of a plasma membrane H+ pump initiates K+ and Cl- influx, accompanied by malate synthesis, resulting in osmotic water flow into the guard cells, a bowing apart of the guard-cell pair, and consequent stomatal opening. Physiological and electrophysiological techniques were employed to investigate the possibility that a second-messenger lipid, 1,2-diacylglycerol, is involved in the transduction of opening stimuli. The synthetic diacylglycerols 1,2-dihexanoylglycerol and 1,2-dioctanoylglycerol enhanced light-induced stomatal opening in Commelina communis and induced stomatal opening under darkness, whereas an isomer with no known second-messenger role, 1,3-dioctanoylglycerol, did not affect stomatal responses. 1-(5-Isoquinolinylsulfonyl)-2-methylpiperazine (H-7), an inhibitor of protein kinase C, the enzyme typically activated by 1,2-diacylglycerol in animal cells, inhibited light-stimulated stomatal opening and enhanced dark-induced stomatal closure. N-[(2-Methylamino)ethyl]-5-isoquinolinesulfonamide (H-8), which inhibits cyclic nucleotide-dependent protein kinases preferentially over lipid-dependent protein kinases such as protein kinase C, had little effect on stomatal apertures. Whole-cell patch clamping of guard-cell protoplasts of Vicia faba revealed that 1,2-dihexanoylglycerol and 1-oleoyl-2-acetylglycerol activated an ATP-dependent, voltage-independent current, suggesting activation of an electrogenic ion pump such as the H+ pump. Diacylglycerol or functionally similar lipids may act through protein phosphorylation to provide the intracellular signals that mediate H+-ATPase activation and stomatal opening in response to light or other opening stimuli.

Repetitive increases in cytosolic Ca2+ of guard cells by abscisic acid activation of nonselective Ca2+ permeable channels

Many signal-transduction processes in higher plant cells have been suggested to be triggered by signal-induced opening of Ca2+ channels in the plasma membrane. However, direct evidence for activation of plasma-membrane Ca2+ channels by physiological signals in higher plants has not yet been obtained. In this context, several lines of evidence suggest that Ca2+ flux into the cytosol of guard cells is a major factor in the induction of stomatal closing by abscisic acid (ABA). ABA closes stomatal pores, thereby reducing transpirational loss of water by plants under drought conditions. To directly investigate initial events in ABA-induced signal transduction in guard cells, we devised an experimental approach that allows simultaneous photometric measurements of cytosolic Ca2+ and patch-clamp recordings of ion currents across the plasma membrane of single Vicia faba guard cells. Using this approach, we found that the resting cytosolic Ca2+ concentration was 0.19 +/- 0.09 microM (n = 19). In responsive guard cells, external exposure to ABA produced transient repetitive increases in the cytosolic free Ca2+ concentration. These Ca2+ transients were accompanied by concomitantly occurring increases in an inward-directed ion current. Depolarization of the membrane terminated both repetitive elevations in cytosolic Ca2+ and inward-directed ion currents, suggesting that ABA-mediated Ca2+ transients were produced by passive influx of Ca2+ from the extracellular space through Ca2(+)-permeable channels. Detailed voltage-clamp measurements revealed that ABA-activated ion currents could be reversed by depolarizations more positive than -10 mV. Interestingly, reversal potentials of ABA-induced currents show that these currents are not highly Ca2(+)-selective, thereby permitting permeation of both Ca2+ and K+. These results provide direct evidence for ABA activation of Ca2(+)-permeable ion channels in the plasma membrane of guard cells. ABA-activated ion channels allow repetitive elevations in the cytosolic Ca2+ concentration, which, in turn, can modulate cellular responses promoting stomatal closure.