Mechanical Properties of the Plasma Membrane of Isolated Plant Protoplasts

The volume of isolated protoplasts of rye (Secale cereale L. cv Puma) in a suspending solution at constant concentration is shown to be negligibly changed by tensions in the plasma membrane which approach that tension necessary to lyse them. This allows a detailed investigation of the plasma membrane stress-strain relation by micropipette aspiration.Over periods less than a second, the membrane behaves as an elastic two-dimensional fluid with an area modulus of elasticity of 230 millinewtons per meter. Over longer periods, the stress-strain relation approaches a surface energy law-the resting tension is independent of area and has a value of the order 100 micronewtons per meter. Over longer periods the untensioned area, which is defined as the area that would be occupied by the molecules in the membrane at any given time if the tension were zero, increases with time under large imposed tensions and decreases under sufficiently small tension. It is proposed that these long term responses are the result of exchange of material between the plane of the membrane and a reservoir of membrane material. The irreversibility of large contractions in area is demonstrated directly, and the behavior of protoplasts during osmotically induced cycles of contraction and expansion is explained in terms of the membrane stress-strain relation.