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Ethylene activates a plasma membrane Ca 2+ ‐permeable channel in tobacco suspension cells
Author(s) -
Zhao MinGui,
Tian QiuYing,
Zhang. WenHao
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
new phytologist
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.742
H-Index - 244
eISSN - 1469-8137
pISSN - 0028-646X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1469-8137.2007.02037.x
Subject(s) - ethephon , nicotiana tabacum , chemistry , biophysics , ethylene , cytosol , membrane , confocal microscopy , membrane potential , bapta , biochemistry , intracellular , microbiology and biotechnology , biology , gene , enzyme , catalysis
Summary• Here, the effects of the ethylene‐releasing compound, ethephon, and the ethylene precursor, 1‐aminocyclopropane‐1‐carboxylic acid (ACC), on ionic currents across plasma membranes and on the cytosolic Ca 2+ activity ([Ca 2+ ] c ) of tobacco ( Nicotiana tabacum ) suspension cells were characterized using a patch‐clamp technique and confocal laser scanning microscopy. • Exposure of tobacco protoplasts to ethephon and ACC led to activation of a plasma membrane cation channel that was permeable to Ba 2+ , Mg 2+ and Ca 2+ , and inhibited by La 3+ , Gd 3+ and Al 3+ . • The ethephon‐ and ACC‐induced Ca 2+ ‐permeable channel was abolished by the antagonist of ethylene perception (1‐metycyclopropene) and by the inhibitor of ACC synthase (aminovinylglycin), indicating that activation of the Ca 2+ ‐permeable channels results from ethylene. Ethephon elicited an increase in the [Ca 2+ ] c of tobacco suspension cells, as visualized by the Ca 2+ ‐sensitive probe Fluo‐3 and confocal microscopy. The ethephon‐induced elevation of [Ca 2+ ] c was markedly inhibited by Gd 3+ and BAPTA, suggesting that an influx of Ca 2+ underlies the elevation of [Ca 2+ ] c . • These results indicate that an elevation of [Ca 2+ ] c , resulting from activation of the plasma membrane Ca 2+ ‐permeable channels by ethylene, is an essential component in ethylene signaling in plants.