Abstract
In the submerged trichomes of floating-moss (Salvinia auriculataAubl.) and the roots of the higher water plant Trianea bogotensisKarst., the dependence of the electrical resistance of intercellular junctions on the presence of the agents that destroy microfilaments (cytochalasin B) and microtubules (colchicine) was investigated using the microelectrode technique. The resistance of the junctions (R c) was estimated taking into account the input resistance and the coefficient of intercellular electrical communication. Should the cells be connected via symplast, R cwill describe the resistance of plasmodesmata. Cytochalasin B (3–30 μg/ml) reversibly changed R cduring the first minutes after application. The extent of the change depended on the concentration of the inhibitor; its character of action depended on the initial strength of intercellular communication. When the initial conductance of the contact was high, cytochalasin B elevated the resistance; when it was low, the inhibitor decreased it. In all the experiments, cytochalasin B reduced the input resistance (R i) that suggests the dependence of plasma membrane resistance on actin cytoskeleton. The effect of colchicine (0.1–1.0 mM) on R iand R cwas observed only when the cellular membrane was hyperpolarized or after a prolonged action of the inhibitor (for about 0.5 h). It was concluded that the electrical conductance of plasmodesmata and plasma membrane depended on the state of actin cytoskeleton. A complex and probably mediated interaction of microtubules with the processes affecting these characteristics of the cells was suggested.
Similar content being viewed by others
REFERENCES
Lucas, W.J. and Wolf, S., Plasmodesmata: The Intercellular Organelles of Green Plants, Trends Cell Biol., 1993, vol. 3, pp. 308–315.
McLean, B.G., Hempel, F.D., and Zambryski, P.C., Plant Intercellular Communication via Plasmodesmata, Plant Cell, 1997, vol. 9, pp. 1043–1054.
Epel, B.L., Plasmodesmata: Composition, Structure and Trafficking, Plant Mol. Biol., 1994, vol. 26, pp. 1343–1356.
Wolf, S., Deom, C.M., Beachy, R., and Lucas, W.J., Plasmodesmatal Function Is Probed Using Transgenic Tobacco Plants that Express a Virus Movement Protein, Plant Cell, 1991, vol. 3, pp. 593–604.
Kwiatkowska, M., Symplasmic Isolation of Chara vulgaris Antheridium and Mechanisms Regulating the Process of Spermatogenesis, Protoplasma, 1988, vol. 142, pp. 137–146.
Coté, R., Train, J.F., and Fensom, D.S., Increase in Electrical Resistance of Plasmodesmata of Chara Induced by an Applied Pressure Gradient across Nodes, Can. J. Bot., 1987, vol. 65, pp. 509–511.
Ding, B., Turgeon, R., and Parthasarathy, M.V., Substructure of Freeze-Substituted Plasmodesmata, Protoplasma, 1992, vol. 169, pp. 28–41.
Zawadzki, T. and Fensom, D.S., Transnodal Transport of 14C in Nitella flexilis: 1. Tandem Cells without Applied Pressure Gradients, J. Exp. Bot., 1986, vol. 37, pp. 1341–1352.
White, R.G., Badelt, K., Overall, R.L., and Vesk, M., Actin Associated with Plasmodesmata, Protoplasma, 1994, vol. 180, pp. 169–184.
Ding, B., Kwon, M.-O., and Warnberg, L., Evidence that Actin Filaments Are Involved in Controlling the Permeability of Plasmodesmata in Tobacco Mesophyll, Plant J., 1996, vol. 10, pp. 157–164.
Lyalin, O.O., Ktitorova, I.N., Barmicheva, E.M., and Akhmedov, N.I., Intercellular Communications of Water Submerged Trichomes of Salvinia, Fiziol. Rast. (Moscow), 1986, vol. 33, pp. 432–446 (Sov. Plant Physiol., Engl. Transl.).
Lyalin, O.O. and Ktitorova, I.N., A Rest Potential of Trianea bogotensis Root Hair, Fiziol. Rast. (Moscow), 1969, vol. 16, pp. 261–271 (Sov. Plant Physiol., Engl. Transl.).
Spanswick, R.M., Electrical Coupling between Cells of Higher Plants: A Direct Demonstration of Intercellular Communication, Planta, 1972, vol. 102, pp. 215–227.
Vorob'ev, L.N., Tarkhanov, K.A., and Vakhmistrov, D.B., Possibility to Quantify the Symplast Communication via Coefficient of Electric Coupling, Fiziol. Rast. (Moscow), 1981, vol. 28, pp. 692–700 (Sov. Plant Physiol., Engl. Transl.).
Holdaway-Clarke, T.L., Walker, N.A., and Overall, R.L., Measurement of the Electrical Resistance of Plasmodesmata and Membranes of Corn Suspension-Culture Cells, Planta, 1996, vol. 199, pp. 537–544.
Cox, D.N. and Muday, G.K., NPA Binding Activity Is Peripheral to the Plasma Membrane and Is Associated with the Cytoskeleton, Plant Cell, 1994, vol. 6, pp. 1941–1953.
Collings, D.A., Asada, T., Allen, N.S., and Shibaoka, H., Plasma Membrane-Associated Actin in Bright Yellow-2 Tobacco Cells, Plant Physiol., 1998, vol. 118, pp. 917–928.
Hwang, J.U., Suh, S., Yi, H., Kim, J., and Lee, Y., Actin Filaments Modulate Both Stomatal Opening and K+ Channel Activities in Guard Cells of Vicia faba L., Plant Physiol., 1997, vol. 115, pp. 335–342.
Bostrom, T.E. and Walker, N.A., Intercellular Transport in Plants: II. Cyclosis and the Rate of Intercellular Transport of Chloride in Chara, J. Exp. Bot., 1976, vol. 27, pp. 347–357.
Ding, D.-Q. and Tazawa, M., Influence of Cytoplasmic Streaming and Turgor Pressure Gradient on the Transnodal Transport of Rubidium and Electrical Conductance in Chara corallina, Plant Cell Physiol., 1989, vol. 30, pp. 739–748.
Barclay, G.F., Peterson, C.A., and Tyree, M.T., Transport of Fluorescein in Trichomes of Lycopersicon esculentum, Can. J. Bot., 1982, vol. 60, pp. 397–402.
Tucker, E.B., Cytoplasmic Streaming Does Not Drive Intercellular Passage in Staminal Hairs of Setcreasea purpurea, Protoplasma, 1987, vol. 137, pp. 140–144.
Barclay, G.F., Peterson, C.A., and Tyree, M.T., Transport of Fluorescein in Trichomes of Lycopersicon esculentum, Can. J. Bot., 1982, vol. 60, pp. 397–402.
Palevitz, B.A., Accumulation of F-Actin during Cytokinesis in Allium: Correlation with Microtubule Distribution and the Effects of Drugs, Protoplasma, 1987, vol. 141, pp. 24–32.
McLean, B.G., Zupan, J., and Zambryski, P.C., Tobacco Mosaic Virus Movement Protein Associates with the Cytoskeleton in Tobacco Cells, Plant Cell, 1995, vol. 7, pp. 2101–2114.
Blackman, L.M. and Overall, R.L., Immunolocalization of the Cytoskeleton to Plasmodesmata of Chara corallina, Plant J., 1998, vol. 14, pp. 733–741.
Krasavina, M.S., Kulikova, A.L., Ktitorova, I.N., and Burmistrova, N.A., A Possible Actin Participation in the Controlling Plasmadesmata Conductance, Dokl. Ross. Akad. Nauk, 1998, vol. 362, pp. 709–711.
Radford, J.E. and White, R.G., Localization of a Myosin-Like Protein to Plasmodesmata, Plant J., 1998, vol. 14, pp. 743–750.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Krasavina, M.S., Ktitorova, I.N. & Burmistrova, N.A. Electrical Conductance of Cell-to-Cell Junctions and the Cytoskeleton of Plant Cells. Russian Journal of Plant Physiology 48, 741–748 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1012548206362
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1012548206362