Abstract
The results of studies of Micrasterias rotata (Grev.) Ralfs, M. thomasiana Archer (biradiate and uniradiate forms) and Closterium sp. using one- and two-dimensional vibrating probes show that transcellular ionic currents are detectable only around cells undergoing expansion of the primary cell wall (half-cell); current enters local regions of expansion and exits over both the rigid surface of the secondary wall and regions of the primary wall where hardening of the wall prevents further expansion. Current densities remain at steady levels until expansion stops with maturation of the primary wall, whereupon currents are no longer detectable. The temporal and spatial correlation between the currents and regions of wall expansion is particularly evident because morphogenesis of the half-cell is a determinate process. Measurements of inward currents ranged from 0.1 to 5.4 μA · cm−2, and outward currents ranged from-0.05 to -1.5 μA · cm−2 measured at 18 μ from the cell surface. The results of ion substitution and channel-blocker studies indicate that the currents may be carried at least in part by Ca2+, Cl−, H+ and K+ ions. The possible role of a Ca2+ influx during tip growth in desmids is discussed.
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This work was conducted at the National Vibrating Probe Facility, Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, Mass., USA. Dr. Lionel F. Jaffe, Director of the Facility, and Dr. Jeremy D. PickettHeaps, University of Colorado, Boulder, USA, provided valuable guidance and support, and gave unstinting encouragement during these studies. Dr. Franklin M. Harold provided support for the writing of this paper during C.L.T.'s postdoctoral year at the National Jewish Center for Immunology and Respiratory Research, Denver. Mr. Alan Shipley and Mr. Steve Dixon provided talented technical assistance. C.L.T. is grateful for support received from a National Institutes of Health Pre-doctoral Training Grant in the Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, University of Colorado. The work was supported by N.I.H. grants 5 P41 RR01395 and 3 P41 RR01395-02S1 (to L.F.J.), National Science Foundation grants No. BSR 82 14199 and PCM 83 09331 (to J.P.-H.), and No. DCB 86 18694 (to F.M.H.).
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Troxell, C.L., Scheffey, C. Ionic currents flow through Micrasterias and Closterium cells during expansion of the primary cell wall. Planta 184, 218–225 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00197950
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00197950