A lily stylar pectin is necessary for pollen tube adhesion to an in vitro stylar matrix

Pollen tube cells adhere to the wall surface of the stylar transmitting tract epidermis in lily. This adhesion has been proposed as essential for the proper delivery of the sperm cells to the ovule. An in vitro adhesion bioassay has been used to isolate two stylar molecules required for lily pollen tube adhesion. The first molecule was determined to be a small, cysteine-rich protein with some sequence similarity to lipid transfer proteins and now called stigma/stylar cysteine-rich adhesin (SCA). The second, larger, molecule has now been purified from style fragments and characterized. Chemical composition, specific enzyme degradations, and immunolabeling data support the idea that this molecule required for pollen tube adhesion is a pectic polysaccharide. In vitro binding assays revealed that this lily stylar adhesive pectin and SCA are able to bind to each other in a pH-dependent manner.

A lipid transfer-like protein is necessary for lily pollen tube adhesion to an in vitro stylar matrix

Flowering plants possess specialized extracellular matrices in the female organs of the flower that support pollen tube growth and sperm cell transfer along the transmitting tract of the gynoecium. Transport of the pollen tube cell and the sperm cells involves a cell adhesion and migration event in species such as lily that possess a transmitting tract epidermis in the stigma, style, and ovary. A bioassay for adhesion was used to isolate from the lily stigma/stylar exudate the components that are responsible for in vivo pollen tube adhesion. At least two stylar components are necessary for adhesion: a large molecule and a small (9 kD) protein. In combination, the two molecules induced adhesion of pollen tubes to an artificial stylar matrix in vitro. The 9-kD protein was purified, and its corresponding cDNA was cloned. This molecule shares some similarity with plant lipid transfer proteins. Immunolocalization data support its role in facilitating adhesion of pollen tubes to the stylar transmitting tract epidermis.

A lipid transfer-like protein is necessary for lily pollen tube adhesion to an in vitro stylar matrix

Flowering plants possess specialized extracellular matrices in the female organs of the flower that support pollen tube growth and sperm cell transfer along the transmitting tract of the gynoecium. Transport of the pollen tube cell and the sperm cells involves a cell adhesion and migration event in species such as lily that possess a transmitting tract epidermis in the stigma, style, and ovary. A bioassay for adhesion was used to isolate from the lily stigma/stylar exudate the components that are responsible for in vivo pollen tube adhesion. At least two stylar components are necessary for adhesion: a large molecule and a small (9 kD) protein. In combination, the two molecules induced adhesion of pollen tubes to an artificial stylar matrix in vitro. The 9-kD protein was purified, and its corresponding cDNA was cloned. This molecule shares some similarity with plant lipid transfer proteins. Immunolocalization data support its role in facilitating adhesion of pollen tubes to the stylar transmitting tract epidermis.

A lipid transfer-like protein is necessary for lily pollen tube adhesion to an in vitro stylar matrix

Flowering plants possess specialized extracellular matrices in the female organs of the flower that support pollen tube growth and sperm cell transfer along the transmitting tract of the gynoecium. Transport of the pollen tube cell and the sperm cells involves a cell adhesion and migration event in species such as lily that possess a transmitting tract epidermis in the stigma, style, and ovary. A bioassay for adhesion was used to isolate from the lily stigma/stylar exudate the components that are responsible for in vivo pollen tube adhesion. At least two stylar components are necessary for adhesion: a large molecule and a small (9 kD) protein. In combination, the two molecules induced adhesion of pollen tubes to an artificial stylar matrix in vitro. The 9-kD protein was purified, and its corresponding cDNA was cloned. This molecule shares some similarity with plant lipid transfer proteins. Immunolocalization data support its role in facilitating adhesion of pollen tubes to the stylar transmitting tract epidermis.

The predominant protein on the surface of maize pollen is an endoxylanase synthesized by a tapetum mRNA with a long 5' leader

In plants, the pollen coat covers the exine wall of the pollen and is the outermost layer that makes the initial contact with the stigma surface during sexual reproduction. Little is known about the constituents of the pollen coat, especially in wind-pollinated species. The pollen coat was extracted with diethyl ether from the pollen of maize (Zea mays L.), and a predominant protein of 35 kDa was identified. On the basis of the N-terminal sequence of this protein, a cDNA clone of the Xyl gene was obtained by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction. The deduced amino acid sequence of the 35-kDa protein shared similarities with the sequences of many microbial xylanases and a barley aleurone-layer xylanase. The 35-kDa protein in the pollen-coat extract was purified to homogeneity by fast protein liquid chromatography and determined to be an acidic endoxylanase that was most active on oat spelt xylan. Northern and in situ hybridization showed that Xyl was specifically expressed in the tapetum of the anther after the tetrad microspores had become individual microspores. Southern hybridization and gene-copy reconstruction studies showed only one copy of the Xyl gene per haploid genome. Analyses of the genomic DNA sequence of Xyl and RNase protection studies with the transcript revealed many regulatory motifs at the promoter region and an intron at the 5' leader region of the transcript. The Xyl transcript had a 562-nucleotide (nt) 5' leader, a 54-nt sequence encoding a putative signal peptide, a 933-nt coding sequence, and a 420-nt 3'-untranslated sequence. The unusually long 5' leader had an open reading frame encoding a putative 175-residue protein whose sequence was most similar to that of a microbial arabinosidase. The maize xylanase is the first enzyme documented to be present in the pollen coat. Its possible role in the hydrolysis of the maize type II primary cell wall (having xylose, glucose, and arabinose as the major moieties) of the tapetum cells and the stigma surface is discussed.

Presence of a glycosylphosphatidylinositol lipid anchor on rose arabinogalactan proteins

Arabinogalactan proteins constitute a class of plant cell surface proteoglycans with widespread occurrence and suggested functions in various aspects of plant growth and development, including cell proliferation, expansion, marking, and death. Previous investigations of subcellular fractions from suspension-cultured cells of "Paul's Scarlet" rose (Rosa sp.) have revealed extensive structural similarity between some soluble arabinogalactan proteins from the cell wall space and some plasma membrane-associated arabinogalactan proteins, thus inspiring the present investigation of the mechanism through which these inherently water-soluble molecules are held on the plasma membrane. Several lines of evidence gained through a combination of methods including reversed-phase chromatography, treatment with phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C, and chemical structural analysis now show that some rose arabinogalactan proteins carry a ceramide class glycosylphosphatidylinositol lipid anchor. The predominant form of the ceramide is composed of tetracosanoic acid and 4-hydroxysphinganine. Plasma membrane vesicles readily shed arabinogalactan proteins by an inherent mechanism that appears to involve a phospholipase. This finding has significance toward understanding the biosynthesis, localization, and function of arabinogalactan proteins and toward stimulating other studies that may expand the currently very short list of higher plant proteins found to carry such membrane lipid anchors.

Proteoglycans and related components in plant cells

After the context is set by a brief description of the plant cell surface, emphasis is placed on one class of cell surface components, the arabinogalactan proteins. An expansion of knowledge regarding the structure, expression, and function of these proteoglycans has been initiated and is being sustained through new experimental approaches, including the development of monoclonal antibody probes and the cloning of cDNAs corresponding to core polypeptides. An examination of the structure of both the polypeptide and carbohydrate components of arabinogalactan proteins is presented with emphasis placed on recently deduced core polypeptide sequences. Information about the biosynthesis and turnover of arabinogalactan proteins is incomplete, especially with regard to the carbohydrate component. Although functions of arabinogalactan proteins have not been clearly identified, regulated expression and several other lines of evidence point to involvement in plant reproductive development, pattern formation, and somatic embryogenesis, as well as in the underlying processes of cell division, cell expansion, and cell death. Arabinogalactan proteins are compared with animal proteoglycans and mucins, and the results of searches for plant analogues of other animal extracellular matrix components are examined.

Lipid lateral mobility in the plasma membrane of whole plant cells

Fluorescence photobleaching recovery was used to measure the apparent lateral diffusion coefficient and mobile fraction of a fluorescent lipid probe in the plasma membranes of whole plant cells, i.e., in the presence of cell walls. Interfering fluorescence from the cell wall was reduced by extensive washing and then subtracted from the recovery recordings. Mobility characteristics of plasma membrane lipids in whole cells were found to be very similar to those in protoplasts.

Heterogeneity of Arabinogalactan-Proteins on the Plasma Membrane of Rose Cells

Arabinogalactan-proteins (AGPs) have been purified from the plasma membrane of suspension-cultured Paul's Scarlet rose (Rosa sp.) cells. The two most abundant and homogeneous plasma membrane AGP fractions were named plasma membrane AGP1 (PM-AGP1) and plasma membrane AGP2 (PM-AGP2) and had apparent molecular masses of 140 and 217 kD, respectively. Both PM-AGP1 and PM-AGP2 had [beta]-(1-3)-, [beta]-(1,6)-, and [beta]-(1,3,6)-galactopyranosyl residues, predominantly terminal [alpha]-arabinofuranosyl residues, and (1,4)- and terminal glucuronopyranosyl residues. The protein moieties of PM-AGP1 and PM-AGP2 were both rich in hydroxyproline, alanine, and serine, but differed in the abundance of hydroxyproline, which was 1.6 times higher in PM-AGP2 than in PM-AGP1. Another difference was the overall protein content, which was 3.7% (w/w) in PM-AGP1 and 15% in PM-AGP2. As judged by their behavior on reverse-phase chromatography, PM-AGP1 and PM-AGP2 were not more hydrophobic than AGPs from the cell wall or culture medium. In contrast, a minor plasma membrane AGP fraction eluted later on reverse-phase chromatography and was more negatively charged at pH 5 than either PM-AGP1 or PM-AGP2. The more negatively charged fraction contained molecules with a glycosyl composition characteristic of AGPs and included at least two different macromolecules. The results of this investigation indicate that Rosa plasma membrane contains at least four distinct AGPs or AGP-like molecules. These molecules differed from each other in size, charge, hydrophobicity, amino-acyl composition, and/or protein content.

Fractionation and Structural Characterization of Arabinogalactan-Proteins from the Cell Wall of Rose Cells

Arabinogalactan-proteins (AGPs) have been purified from Paul's Scarlet rose (Rosa sp.) cell walls. As estimated by gel permeation chromatography, the apparent molecular masses of the two major cell-wall AGP fractions were 130 and 242 kD. Since the 130-kD AGP had a ratio of arabinose/glucuronic acid that was 12 times higher than that of the 242-kD AGP, the fractions were named cell-wall AGP1 (CW-AGP1) and glucuronogalactan-protein (GGP), respectively. CW-AGP1 and GGP contained predominantly t-arabinofuranosyl residues; 3-linked, 6-linked, and 3,6-branched galactopyranosyl residues; and 4-linked and t-glucuronopyranosyl residues. The 1H-nuclear magnetic resonance spectra of CW-AGP1 and GGP showed that the arabinofuranosyl and galactopyranosyl residues were predominantly in [alpha]- and [beta]-anomeric configuration, respectively, and that GGP contained a few O-acetyl residues. The protein moieties of CW-AGP1 and GGP were both rich in hydroxyproline and alanine but differed in the percentage of various amino acids, including hydroxyproline, alanine, serine, and glycine. Cell-wall AGPs bound to ([beta]-D-glucosyl)3 Yariv phenylglycoside, but the stoichiometry of binding was about 6 times greater in GGP than in other Rosa AGPs. GGP seems to be peculiar to the cell wall, since no similar molecule was found in the culture medium.

Transport and dynamics of molecules dissolved in maize root cortex membranes

Translational diffusion of a fluorescent sterol probe was measured in the plasma membranes of protoplasts isolated from cortical cells of the primary root of maize seedlings. The apparent lateral diffusion coefficient was typically observed to be nearly insensitive to temperature, while the mobile fraction increased with increasing temperature. These fluorescence photobleaching recovery (FPR) measurements were compared with the electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectra of the methyl ester of 13-doxyl palmitic acid in membranes of corn root tissue in situ. The complex spectra observed with this probe were analyzed as weighted sums of simpler spectra of various order parameters and rotational correlation times. The reconstituted spectra calculated from the model show that EPR also detects a mobile (less ordered, fluid) fraction, distinguished by the order parameter S = 0.1 to 0.2, which becomes more abundant as temperature increases and is qualitatively comparable to the mobile fraction determined by the FPR method. The observed results on the mobile fractions and the diffusion rates for translational (FPR) as well as rotational (EPR) motions are interpreted in terms of membrane organization, thus providing information on the population and structural patterns of the coexisting domains with a special emphasis on the response of the membrane to temperature changes.

Arabinogalactan-proteins from the suspension culture medium and plasma membrane of rose cells

Arabinogalactan-proteins (AGPs) that bind to beta-glycosyl Yariv antigens have been purified from the culture medium and plasma membrane of "Paul's Scarlet" rose cells. Starting from culture medium or from plasma membrane vesicles prepared by aqueous two-phase partitioning, the purification procedure involved Yariv antigen-induced precipitation and subsequent chromatographic steps. Two fractions, AGP-(a) and AGP-(b), were obtained from the culture medium, and one AGP fraction was obtained from the plasma membrane. The glycosyl compositions of all three fractions were dominated by arabinosyl and galactosyl residues and included glucuronosyl and other minor residues. Methylation analysis showed that AGP-(a) and AGP-(b) were both highly branched 3,6-galactans with terminal arabinofuranosyl substituents. The amino acid compositions of all three AGPs were high in alanine, hydroxyproline, and serine and/or threonine. The amino-terminal sequence of AGP-(b) contained an alanine-hydroxyproline repeat. While sharing general structural similarity, the AGPs from the plasma membrane and the culture medium were distinguishable by composition and by size and charge, with the plasma membrane AGPs being larger and more negatively charged than the culture medium AGPs.

Fluorometric determination of carbohydrate with 2-aminothiophenol

The 2-aminothiophenol-based fluorometric assay of Nakano et al. (1973, J. Pharm. Soc. Jpn. 93, 350-353) for monosaccharides has been modified to improve the speed, applicability, and sensitivity of the method. The improved assay is applicable to complex carbohydrates as well as to monosaccharides. Less than 50 ng of carbohydrate in a final volume of 2 ml can be quantitatively measured within 30 min. The assay is reasonably compatible with the presence of a variety of reagents commonly used in aqueous buffer solutions. The assay is especially useful for monitoring column eluents during the purification of small quantities of carbohydrates or their conjugates.

Selective osmotic effect on diffusion of plasma membrane lipids in maize protoplasts

Osmotic levels in the range typically used during plant protoplast isolation and incubation were investigated with regard to effects on the lateral diffusion of lipid probes in the plasma membrane. The lateral diffusion coefficient of a fluorescent sterol probe in the plasma membrane of maize (Zea mays L.) root protoplasts in a medium containing 0.45 M mannitol was 4 times faster than when the medium contained 0.9 M mannitol. The lateral diffusion coefficient of a fluorescent phospholipid probe, however, did not change over this range of mannitol concentrations. Similar diffusion characteristics were observed when the medium contained trehalose instead of mannitol. Slower lateral diffusion of the sterol probe at higher osmolality was also observed when KCl/CaCl2-based osmotic media were used with protoplasts isolated by a mechanical, rather than by an enzymic, method. Extraction and quantitation of total lipids from protoplasts showed that both the phospholipid and sterol contents per protoplast decreased with increasing osmolality, while the sterol/phospholipid ratio increased. These results demonstrate that osmotic stress induces selective changes in both the composition and biophysical properties of plant membranes.

Lateral diffusion in the plasma membrane of maize protoplasts with implications for cell culture

Plasma-membrane dynamics in live protoplasts from maize (Zea mays L.) roots were characterized and examined for relationships as to the ability of the protoplasts to synthesize new cell walls and develop to cells capable of division. The lateral diffusion-coefficients and mobile fractions of fluorescence-labeled plasma-membrane proteins and lipids were measured by fluorescence photobleaching recovery. Small but significant effects on the diffusion of membrane proteins were observed after treatments with oryzalin or amiprophosmethyl, microtubule-disrupting drugs that increased the mobile fraction, and after treatments with cytochalasins B or D, microfilament-disrupting drugs that decreased the diffusion coefficient. A number of parameters were tested for correlative effects on membrane dynamics and protoplast performance in culture. Protoplasts isolated with a cellulase preparation from Trichoderma viride showed faster membrane-protein diffusion and a lower frequency of development to cells capable of division than did protoplasts isolated with a cellulase preparation from T. reesei. Membrane proteins in maize A632, a line less capable of plant regeneration from callus, diffused with a smaller diffusion coefficient but a greater mobile fraction than did membrane proteins in maize A634, a line with greater regeneration capacity. The plasma membranes of A632 and A634 protoplasts also differed with regard to lateral-diffusion characteristics of phospholipid and sterol probes, although the presence of both rapidly and slowly diffusing lipid components indicated the apparent existence of lipid domains in both A632 and A634. The protoplasts of the two lines did not differ significantly, however, in either wall regeneration or frequency of development to cells capable of division.

Synthesis and characterization of fluorescent Lucifer yellow-lipid conjugates

The syntheses of fluorescent lipid probes composed of Lucifer yellow dyes linked to either cholesterol or phospholipids are described. The spectral properties of these probes are characterized, and the probes are evaluated for use with model membranes and with live animal and plant cells. Of the probes synthesized, the cholesterol derivative is the easiest to prepare and appears to be the most useful because it readily labels the plasma membrane of live cells and maintains a high ratio of cell surface-to-cytoplasmic fluorescence.

Fluorescence and Delayed Light Emission from Mesophyll and Bundle Sheath Cells in Leaves of Normal and Salt-Treated Panicum miliaceum

A modified fluorescence microscope system was used to measure chlorophyll fluorescence and delayed light emission from mesophyll and bundle sheath cells in situ in fresh-cut sections from leaves of Panicum miliaceum L. The fluorescence rise in 3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1, 1-dimethylurea (DCMU)-treated leaves and the slow fluorescence kinetics in untreated leaves show that mesophyll chloroplasts have larger photosystem II unit sizes than do bundle sheath chloroplasts. The larger photosystem II units imply more efficient noncyclic electron transport in mesophyll chloroplasts. Quenching of slow fluorescence also differs between the cell types with mesophyll chloroplasts showing complex kinetics and bundle sheath chloroplasts showing a relatively simple decline. Properties of the photosynthetic system were also investigated in leaves from plants grown in soil containing elevated NaCl levels. As judged by changes in both fluorescence kinetics in DCMU-treated leaves and delayed light emission in leaves not exposed to DCMU, salinity altered photosystem II in bundle sheath cells but not in mesophyll cells. This result may indicate different ionic distributions in the two cell types or, alternatively, different responses of the two chloroplast types to environmental change.

Absence of Variable Fluorescence from Guard Cell Chloroplasts of Stenotaphrum secundatum

The lack of detectable variable fluorescence from guard cell chloroplasts in both the albino and green portions of variegated leaves of St. Augustine grass (Stenotaphrum secundatum var variegatum A.S. Hitchc.) is reported. Fluorescence was measured either with a highly sensitive, modified fluorescence microscope which was capable of recording fluorescence induction curves from single chloroplasts, or with a spectrofluorometer. Both fast and slow fluorescence transients from S. secundatum guard cells showed a rapid rise and then remained at a steady level. Neither variable fluorescence increase (induction) nor decrease (quenching), properties normally associated with photosystem II, was observed from these chloroplasts. These fluorescence kinetics did not change either with alterations of the specimen preparation procedure or with alterations of the excitation light intensities and wavelengths. These results indicate that guard cell chloroplasts in this variety of S. secundatum do not conduct normal photosystem II electron transport. Light regulation of stomatal conductance in intact leaves of this plant did occur, however, and was similar to light regulation observed in other species. The conductance of the green portion of the leaves was much greater in the light than in the dark, and was much greater than the conductance of the albino portion of the leaves. Stomata in the green portion of the leaves also showed greater opening in blue light than in red light. These results provide evidence that stomatal regulation in this variety of S. secundatum does not rely on photosystem II electron transport in guard cell chloroplasts.

Quantum counter for correcting fluorescence excitation spectra at 320- to 800-nm wavelengths

A procedure for recording corrected fluorescence excitation spectra to wavelengths as long as 800 nm is described. The procedure involves the use of a commercial spectrofluorometer, which is modified by substituting 1,1',3,3,3',3'-hexamethylindotricarbocyanine perchlorate in place of rhodamine B as the quantum counter dye. This modification is applicable to spectrofluorometers supplied by several different manufacturers and can be accomplished by a user having only modest technical skills. A study of the fluorescence excitation spectrum of bacteriochlorophyll a is presented as an illustration of the use of the procedure. The procedure will be valuable in biological and biochemical studies that involve the use of long-wavelength fluorescent probes of either natural or synthetic origin.

Structural requirements for the binding of phenylglycosides to the surface of protoplasts

A variety of phenylglycosides have been synthesized and tested for binding to the surface of protoplasts from suspension-cultured cells of "Paul's Scarlet" rose (Rosa sp.). Multivalent phenylglycosides in the form of Yariv antigens (1,3,5,-tri-[p-glycosyloxyphenylazo]-2,4,6,-trihydroxybenzene) agglutinated the protoplasts. Fluorescence-labeled derivatives of other monovalent and polyvalent phenyl-beta-glycosides did not bind to the protoplast surface. Agglutination was induced by Yariv antigens only if these probes contained beta-anomeric, O-glycosidic linkages. Yariv antigens containing alpha-anomeric or thio-glycosidic linkages did not agglutinate protoplasts. These same structural features of Yariv antigens were also required for the precipitation of gum arabic-Yariv antigen complexes. The results suggest that plasma membranes of "Paul's Scarlet" rose protoplasts contain arabinogalactan-proteins that interact with phenyl-beta-glycosides. The results further show that binding at these plasma membrane sites is not solely dependent upon the carbohydrate portion of single phenylglycosides, but may also require specific spatial orientations of adjacent phenylglycosides.

Host-Pathogen Interactions : XXII. A Galacturonic Acid Oligosaccharide from Plant Cell Walls Elicits Phytoalexins

Elicitors of phytoalexin accumulation in soybean (Glycine max L. Merr., cv Wayne) cotyledons were released from soybean cell walls and from citrus pectin by partial acid hydrolysis. These two hydrolysates yielded nearly identical distributions of elicitor activity when fractionated on anion-exchange columns. Chromatography of the pectin elicitor on gel filtration and high-pressure anion-exchange columns did not further purify the elicitor. Elicitor activity of the preparation was lost by treatment with either endo-alpha-1,4-polygalacturonase or pectate lyase. Glycosyl residue compositions of the purified elicitors from cell walls and pectin were both found to be approximately 98% galacturonosyl residues. Linkage analysis of the pectin elicitor showed that most, if not all, of the galacturonosyl residues were alpha-1,4-linked. The high-mass molecular ions detected by fast atom bombardment-mass spectrometry of the most active elicitor fractions from cell walls and pectin both corresponded precisely to a molecule composed of 12 galacturonosyl residues. These results suggest that dodeca-alpha-1,4-d-galacturonide is the active elicitor, but the possibility remains that the active component could be a slightly modified oligogalacturonide present, but not detected, in the purified fractions.

Hydrodynamic models of viscous coupling between motile myosin and endoplasm in characean algae

Cytoplasmic streaming in characean algae is thought to be driven by interaction between stationary subcortical actin bundles and motile endoplasmic myosin. Implicit in this mechanism is a requirement for some form of coupling to transfer motive force from the moving myosin to the endoplasm. Three models of viscous coupling between myosin and endoplasm are presented here, and the hydrodynamic feasibility of each model is analyzed. The results show that individual myosinlike molecules moving along the actin bundles at reasonable velocities cannot exert enough viscous pull on the endoplasm to account for the observed streaming. Attachment of myosin to small spherical organelles improves viscous coupling to the endoplasm, but results for this model show that streaming can be generated only if the myosin-spheres move along the actin bundles in a virtual solid line at about twice the streaming velocity. In the third model, myosin is incorporated into a fibrous or membranous network or gel extending into the endoplasm. This network is pulled forward as the attached myosin slides along the actin bundles. Using network dimensions estimated from published micrographs of characean endoplasm, the results show that this system can easily generate the observed cytoplasmic streaming.

Effects of exogenous proteins on cytoplasmic streaming in perfused Chara cells

Cytoplasmic streaming in characean algae is thought to be generated by interaction between subcortical actin bundles and endoplasmic myosin. Most of the existing evidence supporting this hypothesis is of a structural rather than functional nature. To obtain evidence bearing on the possible function of actin and myosin in streaming, we used perfusion techniques to introduce a number of contractile and related proteins into the cytoplasm of streaming Chara cells. Exogenous actin added at concentrations as low as 0.1 mg/ml is a potent inhibitor of streaming. Deoxyribonuclease I (DNase I), an inhibitor of amoeboid movement and fast axonal transport, does not inhibit streaming in Chara. Fluorescein-DNase I stains stress cables and microfilaments in mammalian cells but does not bind to Chara actin bundles, thus suggesting that the lack of effect on streaming is due to a surprising lack of DNase I affinity for Chara actin bundles. Heavy meromyosin (HMM) does not inhibit streaming, but fluorescein-HMM (FL-HMM), having a partially disabled EDTA ATPase, does. Quantitative fluorescence micrography provides evidence that inhibition of streaming by FL-HMM may be due to a tendency for FL-HMM to remain bound to Chara actin bundles even in the presence of MgATP. Perfusion with various control proteins, including tubulin, ovalbumin, bovine serum albumin, and irrelevant antibodies, does not inhibit streaming. These results support the hypothesis that actin and myosin function to generate cytoplasmic streaming in Chara.

Differential staining of actin in metaphase spindles with 7-nitrobenz-2-oxa-1,3-diazole-phallacidin and fluorescent DNase: is actin involved in chromosomal movement?

The distribution and polymerization state of actin in metaphase rat kangaroo cells was studied by fluorescence microscopy. Formaldehyde-fixed, acetone-extracted cells were labeled with either of two types of actin probes. The first, 7-nitrobenz-2-oxa-1,3-diazole-phallacidin, has high affinity for F actin and does not bind monomeric G actin. The second was a conjugate of DNase I labeled with either tetramethylrhodamine or fluorescein. DNase binds with high affinity to G actin and with lesser affinity to F actin. The polymerization state of actin was deduced by comparing the fluorescence distribution of the phallacidin derivative with that of the fluorescent DNase. The results indicate that the pole-to-chromosome region of the metaphase spindle contains G actin but little if any conventional F actin. F actin is found concentrated in a diffuse distribution outside the spindle region in metaphase cells and returns to the interzone area between the chromosomes by early telophase. These results exclude spindle models for chromosomal movement that require more than about five F actin filaments per chromosome, support the hypothesis that F actin is involved in force generation for cell cleavage, and are not inconsistent with the possibility that actin outside the spindle may be involved in chromosomal movement.

Fluorescence studies on modes of cytochalasin B and phallotoxin action on cytoplasmic streaming in Chara

Various investigations have suggested that cytoplasmic streaming in characean algae is driven by interaction between subcortical actin bundles and endoplasmic myosin. To further test this hypothesis, we have perfused cytotoxic actin-binding drugs and fluorescent actin labels into the cytoplasm of streaming Chara cells. Confirming earlier work, we find that cytochalasin B (CB) reversibly inhibits streaming. In direct contrast to earlier investigators, who have found phalloidin to be a potent inhibitor of movement in amoeba, slime mold, and fibroblastic cells, we find that phalloidin does not inhibit streaming in Chara but does modify the inhibitory effect of CB. Use of two fluorescent actin probes, fluorescein, isothiocyanate-heavy meromyosin (FITC-HMM) and nitrobenzoxadiazole-phallacidin (NBD-Ph), has permitted visualization of the effects of CB and phalloidin on the actin bundles. FITC-HMM labeling in perfused but nonstreaming cells has revealed a previously unobserved alteration of the actin bundles by CB. Phalloidin alone does not perceptibly alter the actin bundles but does block the alteration by CB if applied as a pretreatment, NBD-Ph perfused into the cytoplasm of streaming cells stains actin bundles without inhibiting streaming. NBD-Ph staining of actin bundles is not initially observed in cells inhibited by CB but does appear simultaneously with the recovery of streaming as CB leaks from the cells. The observations reported here are consistent with the established effects of phallotoxins and CB on actin in vitro and support the hypothesis that streaming is generated by actin-myosin interactions.

Fluorescence staining of the actin cytoskeleton in living cells with 7-nitrobenz-2-oxa-1,3-diazole-phallacidin

An active fluorescent derivative of the actin-binding mushroom toxin phallacidin has been synthesized. Convenient methods were developed to stain actin cytoskeletal structures in living and fixed cultured animal cells and actively streaming algal cells. Actin binding specificity was demonstrated by competitive binding experiments and comparative staining of well-known structures. Large populations of living animal cells in culture were readily stained by using a relatively mild lysolecithin permeabilization procedure facilitated by the small molecular size of the label. Actin in animal cells was stained stress fibers, ruffles, the cellular geodome, and in diffuse appearing distributions apparently associated with the plasma membrane. Staining of actin cables in algae with nitrobenzoxadiazole (NBD)-phallacidin did not inhibit cytoplasmic streaming. NBD-phallacidin provides a convenient actin-specific fluorescent label for cellular cytoskeletal structures with promise for use in studies of actin dynamics in living systems.