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Fertilization in Higher Plants pp 235–252Cite as

The Use of the Vibrating Probe Technique to Study Steady Extracellular Currents During Pollen Germination and Tube Growth

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Abstract

The origins of the vibrating probe technique go back to the early part of the twentieth century (Zisman 1932). To the best of our knowledge, the first biological application of the vibrating probe technique was done in the middle of this century (Bluh and Scott 1950) and later on was used to investigate fluxes on skeletal muscle fibers (Davies 1966). The application to biological systems was, however, re-discovered when a major development of the vibrating probe system was done by the addition of a lock-in amplifier (Jaffe and Nucitelli 1974). This modification increased the system sensitivity many fold and provided a method of measuring steady, low magnitude extracellular currents at the surface of biological membranes without damage to the specimen with what has become known as thevibrating voltage probe (sometimes referred to as the “wire-probe”, since it uses a metal electrode as a probe). The technique provided a practical method of showing total electrical currents in a number of biological systems and triggered a very fecund period of research on currents generated by a number of different biological systems (Jaffe 1981, Jaffe 1985, DeLoof 1986). The voltage probe was additionally refined by computerisation methods as well as simultaneous, two-dimensional measurement capability utilising small, insulated wire microelectrodes (Scheffey 1988). These and other improvements were introduced to cope with specific experimental needs or to overcome general pitfalls of the technique. They have transformed the vibrating voltage probe to a reliable and reproducible technique, making its way to a number of applications in several fields of biology (reviews in Nuccitelli 1986, 1990). Materials researchers have also found these techniques to be applicable to the study of corrosion on metal surfaces (Isaacs 1986, Isaacs et al. 1991) with practical consequences in quality control assaying and new product development.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Applicable Electronics, P.O. BOX 589, Forestdale, MA, 02644, USA

    A. M. Shipley

  2. Departamento Biologia Vegetal, Faculdade de Ciências Lisboa, Campo Grande, C2, P-1700, Lisboa, Portugal

    J. A. Feijó

Authors
  1. A. M. Shipley
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  2. J. A. Feijó
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Correspondence to J. A. Feijó .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dipartimento di Biologia Ambientale, Universita degli Studi di Siena, Via P.A. Mattioli 4, 53100, Siena, Italy

    Mauro Cresti , Giampiero Cai  & Alessandra Moscatelli ,  & 

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© 1999 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Shipley, A.M., Feijó, J.A. (1999). The Use of the Vibrating Probe Technique to Study Steady Extracellular Currents During Pollen Germination and Tube Growth. In: Cresti, M., Cai, G., Moscatelli, A. (eds) Fertilization in Higher Plants. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-59969-9_17

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-59969-9_17

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-64202-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-59969-9

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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