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Caterpillar regurgitant induces pore formation in plant membranes
Author(s) -
Lühring Hinrich,
Nguyen Van Dy,
Schmidt Lilian,
Röse Ursula S.R.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
febs letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.593
H-Index - 257
eISSN - 1873-3468
pISSN - 0014-5793
DOI - 10.1016/j.febslet.2007.10.035
Subject(s) - membrane , chemistry , biophysics , aqueous solution , ion channel , vacuole , depolarization , peptide , biochemistry , biology , cytoplasm , receptor
Formation of channel‐like pores in a plant membrane was induced within seconds after application of an aqueous solution containing regurgitant of the insect larvae Spodoptera littoralis . Gated pore currents recorded on the tonoplast of the Charophyte Chara corallina displayed conductances up to several hundred pS. A voltage‐dependent gating reaction supports the assumption that pore‐forming molecules have amphipathic properties. Regurgitant samples separated into masses smaller or larger than 3 kDa were evaluated by patch–clamp and mass spectroscopy. Fractions containing peptides larger than 3 kDa constituted pores of large conductances, peptides smaller than 3 kDa constituted pores of small conductances. Peptide‐free eluates did not constitute conducting pores, indicating that pore‐forming components in regurgitant are membrane‐spanning oligopeptides.