Cytoplasmic calcium affects the gating of potassium channels in the plasma membrane ofChara corallina: a whole-cell study using calcium-channel effectors

Certain calcium channel inhibitors exhibit a number of secondary effects on the physiological properties in Nitellopsis obtusa: a voltage clamp approach

An unsolved problem of contemporary plant electrophysiology is the identity of Ca2+ channels responsible for the initiation of the action potential. We took a pharmacological approach and applied several Ca2+ channel blockers (verapamil, tetrandrine, and NED-19) on a Characean (Nitellopsis obtusa ) algae model system. The impact of the selected pharmaceuticals on the parameters of excitation transients of a single cell was analysed employing the two-electrode voltage clamp technique. It was revealed that tetrandrine exerted no effect, while both verapamil and NED-19 prolonged activation and inactivation durations of the excitatory Cl- current. NED-19 also significantly depolarised the excitation threshold membrane potential and shifted Ca2+ current reversal potential. Thus, NED-19 most specifically targeted Ca2+ channels. A viability assay paired with observations of cytoplasmic streaming revealed that verapamil affected not only Ca2+ channels but also exhibited non-specific effects, which eventually lead to cell death. Since many potential Ca2+ channel blockers exert additional undesirable non-specific effects, our study underlines the necessity to search for new more specific modulators of plant Ca2+ transport systems.

Dissecting blue light signal transduction pathway in leaf epidermis using a pharmacological approach

Blue light signalling pathway in broad bean leaf epidermal cells includes key membrane transporters: plasma- and endomembrane channels and pumps of H (+) , Ca (2+) and K (+) ions, and plasma membrane redox system. Blue light signalling pathway in epidermal tissue isolated from the abaxial side of fully developed Vicia faba leaves was dissected by measuring the effect of inhibitors of second messengers on net K(+), Ca(2+) and H(+) fluxes using non-invasive ion-selective microelectrodes (the MIFE system). Switching the blue light on-off caused transient changes of the ion fluxes. The effects of seven groups of inhibitors were tested in this study: CaM antagonists, ATPase inhibitors, Ca(2+) anatagonists or chelators, agents affecting IP3 formation, redox system inhibitors, inhibitors of endomembrane Ca(2+) transport systems and an inhibitor of plasma membrane Ca(2+)-permeable channels. Most of the inhibitors had a significant effect on steady-state (basal) net fluxes, as well as on the magnitude of the transient ion flux responses to blue light fluctuations. The data presented in this study suggest that redox signalling and, specifically, plasma membrane NADPH oxidase and coupled Ca(2+) and K(+) fluxes play an essential role in blue light signal transduction.

Enhancement of root hydraulic conductivity by methyl jasmonate and the role of calcium and abscisic acid in this process

The role of jasmonic acid in the induction of stomatal closure is well known. However, its role in regulating root hydraulic conductivity (L) has not yet been explored. The objectives of the present research were to evaluate how JA regulates L and how calcium and abscisic acid (ABA) could be involved in such regulation. We found that exogenous methyl jasmonate (MeJA) increased L of Phaseolus vulgaris, Solanum lycopersicum and Arabidopsis thaliana roots. Tomato plants defective in JA biosynthesis had lower values of L than wild-type plants, and that L was restored by addition of MeJA. The increase of L by MeJA was accompanied by an increase of the phosphorylation state of the aquaporin PIP2. We observed that MeJA addition increased the concentration of cytosolic calcium and that calcium channel blockers inhibited the rise of L caused by MeJA. Treatment with fluoridone, an inhibitor of ABA biosynthesis, partially inhibited the increase of L caused by MeJA, and tomato plants defective in ABA biosynthesis increased their L after application of MeJA. It is concluded that JA enhances L and that this enhancement is linked to calcium and ABA dependent and independent signalling pathways.

Enhanced silymarin accumulation is related to calcium deprivation in cell suspension cultures of Silybum marianum (L.) Gaertn

Elimination of calcium ions from the medium of cell cultures of Silybum marianum (L.) Gaertn increased flavonolignan production. Silymarin accumulation was not altered by treatment of cultures with the calcium ionophore A23187. The specific Ca2+ chelator, EGTA, enhanced the silymarin content in cells by 200%, and its secretion by 3-4 times. The inorganic ion La3+, as well as the calcium channel inhibitor verapamil, also stimulated production. Several reagents known to block intracellular calcium movement, such as ruthenium red, thapsigargin and TMB-8 appreciably increased silymarin accumulation. These results suggest that inhibition of external and internal calcium fluxes plays a significant role in flavonolignan metabolism of S. marianum cell cultures.

Measurements of Ca 2+ fluxes in intact plant cells

Owing to the central role of Ca 2+ in signal transduction processes, it is important to measure membrane fluxes of Ca 2+ in cells which are as undisturbed as possible, particularly when studying the control of these fluxes. To this end, techniques have been developed to measure Ca 2+ fluxes in intact, turgid plant cells. The measurements are principally of influx across the plasma membrane where Ca 2+ transport is likely to occur through cation-selective channels. The most direct method measures tracer fluxes of Ca 2+ , but special procedures are required to distinguish between influx and extracellular binding of Ca 2+ . Unfortunately, such techniques are currently only applicable to giant cells where surgical separation of the intracellular contents from the cell wall is possible. The influx of Ca 2+ into normal, resting cells of the green alga Chara corallina is usually about 0.3 nmol m -2 s -1 (at an external Ca 2+ concentration of 0.5 mol m -3 ). This flux is up to 5 times higher in actively growing cells, 20 times higher in cells depolarized by 20 mol m -3 K + and 1000 times higher during an action potential. Reducing cell turgor by a wide range of solutes increases Ca 2+ influx, especially near plasmolysis. Ca 2+ influx is sensitive to alterations in both external and cytosolic pH, but is inhibited by complete darkness and by low concentrations of La 3+ . Various organic Ca 2+ channel antagonists had mixed effects on Ca 2+ influx into Chara . The work described in this paper should enable further study of the control of Ca 2+ fluxes into intact, turgid plant cells, and their role in signal transduction and the control of cellular activities.

Calcium -regulated channels and their bearing on physiological activities in Characean cells

Calcium is involved in the regulation of cytoplasmic streaming, membrane excitation, turgor regulation and salt tolerance in the giant internodal cells of the Characeae. To analyse the mechanism of Ca 2+ action, model systems were used, namely, tonoplast-free and plasma m em brane-perm eabilized cells. In the former, the plasma membrane remained intact and its activity could be investigated by m anipulating the cytoplasmic and external media, whereas in the latter, the tonoplast remained intact and its activity could be studied by altering the bathing solution. Studies using these model systems have established the presence of voltage-dependent Ca 2+ -channels in the plasma membrane and Ca 2+ - dependent ion channels in both the plasma membrane and the tonoplast. To further analyse Ca 2+ action on the basis of single channel activities, patch-clam p techniques were applied to plasmolysed protoplasts and isolated cytoplasmic drops. Channel activities were measured using both cell-attached and excised membrane patch modes. A fresh-water member of the Characeae, Nitellopsis , becomes salt-tolerant if millimolar amounts of Ca 2+ are present in the external medium. Under these conditions, excised patches of the plasma membrane exhibit K + -channel activity with unitary conductances of 25-50 pS and a permeability ratio ( P Na / P K ) of 0.28. These K + channels were closed by external Ca 2+ when ATP was present on the cytoplasmic side of the membrane. ATP could be replaced with AMP, which suggests that ATP acted neither as an energy source nor as a substrate for protein phosphorylation, but rather as an effector. In the tonoplast, K + channels having a unitary conductance of 75 pS and a P Na / P K ratio of 0.2 were not activated by Ca 2+ when it was present on the cytoplasmic side of the excised patches, but these channels were activated by Ca 2+ injected into the cytoplasmic drop, which suggested the involvement of an unknown cytoplasmic factor(s) that mediates the Ca 2+ signal. The brackish water Characeae, Lamprothamnium , can regulate elevated turgor induced by hypotonic treatment only when millimolar amounts of Ca 2+ are present in the external medium. In this situation, elevated turgor may first activate Ca 2+ channels and the increased level of Ca 2+ in the cytoplasm may then activate K + and Cl - channels in both the plasma membrane and the tonoplast. In the cytoplasmic-drop-attached mode, single K + channel current-voltage measurements established that the K + channel exhibited a unitary conductance of 50 pS for negative shifts of the voltage, while under positive shifts in the voltage 100 pS channel conductance was observed. The channel with a P Na / P K of 0.02 is highly selective for K + against Na + and this channel is directly activated by Ca 2+ added to the cytoplasmic side of the excised patch. These results suggest that, in Nitellopsis and Lamprothamnium , Ca 2+ regulation of channels in both the plasma membrane and the tonoplast may form the molecular basis for Ca 2+ -regulated physiological functions such as salt tolerance and turgor regulation in characean cells. The mode of Ca 2+ regulation is discussed in light of current findings.

Blockers of Ca2+ channels in the plasmalemma of perfused Characeae cells

Ionic currents in the plasmalemma of perfused Nitella syncarpa cells identified as currents through Ca2+ channels were registered for the first time. The effect of 1,4-dihydropyridine derivatives (nifedipine, nitrendipine, riodipine) and phenylalkylamines (verapamil, D600) as well as the agonist CGP-28392 on the Ca2+ channels in the plasmalemma of perfused cells of Nitellopsis obtusa and Nitella syncarpa have been studied. A blocking effect of 1,4-dihydropyridine derivatives and phenylalkylamines on the plasmalemma Ca2+ channels has been detected. Phenylalkylamines have been found to block both inward and outward Ca2+ currents. The activating effect of the agonist CGP-28392 on the Ca2+ channels of plasmalemma has been shown.