The Use of Membrane Electrical Noise in the Study of Characean Electrophysiology

The technique of examining membrane properties through the useof endogenous electrical noise is applied to the study of Characeanelectrophysiology. The frequency band between 0·1 and1·0 Hz is particularly sensitive to the metabolic stateof the cell. It is concluded that measurements of the powerspectral density function and the low frequency excess noisewill prove a useful adjunct to the normal measurements of restingpotential and membrane resistivity.     

Size-related selection of food plants by bumblebees

Abstract. 1. A positive correlation between the tongue length of conspecific workers collecting nectar from seven plant species and the corolla length of the flowers probed was found for B.lapidarius and B.pascuomm but not B.terrestris . No simple relationship was found between the volume, sugar weight or concentration of nectar in flowers and the tongue or wing length of probing bees.
2. B.terrestris workers collecting pollen from four plant species producing pollen only, were found to differ in size according to the type of pollen presentation mechanism and the pollen content per flower. Body size variation was also related to the foraging of pollen plus nectar from two other plant species.     

Voltage transients elicited by sudden step-up of auxin

Abstract It is hypothesized (i) that the molecular mechanism for the reception of friction and flexure and the mechanism by which auxin enhances ethylene production have in common a release of free calcium into the cytosol, (ii) that elevated cytosolic calcium initiates vesicle exocytosis, and (iii) that the vesicles release a factor or set of factors which depolarizes the plasmalemma and promotes ethylene synthesis. One consequence of such exocytosis should be small, extracellularly observable voltage transients. Transients, ranging in size up to 600 μV and possessing risetimes (10–90%) of approximately 200 ms, are known to be elicited in etiolated stems of Pisum sativum L. by friction and are here shown to be elicited by sudden increase of auxin concentration and also by a Ca²⁺ ionophore.     

Effects of short chain fatty acids on radicle emergence and root growth in lettuce

Abstract. Short chain fatty acids inhibit both radicle emergence and root growth in lettuce. The transition from ineffectual to inhibitory levels occurs abruptly. Root growth is more sensitive to lower concentrations than radicle emergence and is invariant with chain length. The effect of short chain alcohols on radicle emergence is similar to that of short chain acids, but their comparatively severe inhibition of root growth varies with chain length. Alkanes of the same chain lengths have no noticeable effect. Respiration is not altered by a representative short chain fatty acid (heptanoic). Lettuce seeds are sensitized to phytochrome-absorbed light by short chain fatty acids as found by Berrie and co-workers.     

The Electroshock-Induced Inhibition of Phloem Translocation

The transient inhibition of phloem translocation which is producedby an electric shock was studied by applying controlled-currentstimuli to short lengths of bean stem. Translocation was monitoredby observing the accumulation of carbon-11 label into the plantapex. The principal findings are: (i) For constant-current electricshocks whose (current) x (time) product was held constant at10 mC, those of higher current (and shorter duration) gave longerlasting inhibitions, (ii) Breaking a 5 s pulse into a trainof 100 ms pulses slightly shortened the duration of the inhibition,even though the same total charge was passed; however, the separationof the pulses within the train did not seem to matter. But,when the inhibition produced by a pair of 50 ms pulses was studied,the duration of inhibition increased with pulse spacing. (iii)Single pulses as short as 10 ms could produce a detectable inhibition.The duration of inhibition grew rapidly with pulse length forpulse lengths between 10 ms and 100 ms. (iv) When a pair of2.5 s pulses was applied, a longer inhibition was obtained ifthe two pulses were of opposite polarity. To explain these phenomena,a qualitative conceptual model is provided in terms of ion channelsin the phloem. In the experiments reported here and in all previous pulse-labellingexperiments from this laboratory, it has been noted that rapidlyincreasing stochastic variability in the count data made itextremely difficult to obtain useful results for a period ofmore than 2 h after loading, even if the number of counts perunit time remained fairly high. A quantitative theory for thislimitation is worked out and shown to agree with experimentaldata. Therefore, since biological variability from plant toplant makes it advisable to compare matched stimuli on the sameplant in order to detect trends reliably, the number of challengeswhich can usefully be applied following a single pulse-labellingwith a short-lived isotope is quite limited. Key words: Phloem translocation, transient inhibition, electric shock     

The role of cytoplasmic streaming in symplastic transport

The distributing of materials throughout a symplastic domain must involve at least two classes of transport steps: plasmodesmatal and cytoplasmic. To underpin the latter, the most obvious candidate mechanisms are cytoplasmic streaming and diffusion. The thesis will be here advanced that, although both candidates clearly do transport cytoplasmic entities, the cytoplasmic streaming per se is not of primary importance in symplastic transport but that its underlying molecular motor activity (of which the streaming is a readily visible consequence) is. Following brief tutorials on low Reynolds number flow, diffusion, and targeted intracytoplasmic transport, the hypothesis is broached that macromolecular and vesicular transport along actin trackways is both the cause of visible streaming and the essential metabolically driven cytoplasmic step in symplastic transport. The concluding discussion highlights four underdeveloped aspects of the active cytoplasmic step: (i) visualization of the real‐time transport of messages and metabolites; (ii) enumeration of the entities trafficked; (iii) elucidation of the routing of the messages and metabolites within the cytoplasm; and (iv) transference of the trafficked entities from cytoplasm into plasmodesmata.     

The Transient Inhibition of Phloem Translocation in Phaseolus vulgaris by Abrupt Temperature Drops, Vibration, and Electric Shock

Bean plants (Phaseolus vulgaris L. cv. Fardenlosa Shiny) approximately3 weeks old were labelled with carbon-11 via their most basalcompound leaves; and the transient inhibitions to stem translocationcaused by (i) abrupt drops in temperature, (ii) vibration, or(iii) electric shock were studied. The duration of the inhibitioncaused by abrupt drops in temperature was found to decreasesteadily with increasing temperature and to be absent above40 ?C, and the same was true of inhibitions caused by electricshock; however, translocation seemed relatively insensitiveto temperatures as high as 55 ?C. This inhibition, which couldbe observed in both intact stems and those with the epidermisremoved, was abolished in the latter by presoaking in lanthanum-containingsolutions although it was not sensibly affected by EGTA solutionsor by calcium ionophores. Certain combinations of closely spacedstimuli (e.g. temperature-temperature or electroshock-vibration)caused the response to fatigue while others (e.g. electroshock-temperature)seemed not to. More detailed investigation of the electric shockinhibition showed (i) that it varied only slightly with electrodeseparation, (ii) that its duration was independent of shockpolarity, but increased with shock duration to a plateau whichwas achieved at about 2 s, and (iii) that its duration increasedsteadily from a threshold at a shock intensity of about ? Vmm^–1. Key words: Phloem translocation, cold shock, vibration, electric shock, calcium, calcium channels     

Real Time Studies of Carbon- 11 Translocation in Moonflower: III. FURTHER EXPERIMENTS ON THE EFFECTS OF A NITROGEN ATMOSPHERE, WATER STRESS, AND CHILLING; AND A QUALITATIVE THEORY OF STEM TRANSLOCATION

Translocation of naturally loaded carbon- 11 is studied in themoonflower Ipomoea alba L. and data are presented to show that:(i) source leaf export is momentarily inhibited by a suddenlyapplied water stress; (ii) pathway translocation appears toproceed by a MÜnch-like mechanism, but in a porous mediumrather than in an array of parallel, only slightly leaky pipes;and (iii) sink unloading seems to proceed normally in a nitrogenatmosphere. A qualitative model which incorporates these findingsis presented.     

The Inhibition of Phloem Translocation by Ammonia

Bean plants (Phaseolus vulgaris L. cv. Fardenlosa Shiny) werelabelled with carbon-11 via their first trifoliate leaves when3-weeks-old and the transient inhibitions of translocation causedby the application of ammonium chloride solutions (10 mol m^–3)to a peeled region of stem were studied. At pH 6·5 theammonium was without effect. At pH 11·0 even a briefapplication inhibited translocation for many minutes, whilelonger applications inhibited translocation for considerablylonger. Solutions of 10 mol m^–3 sodium chloride were withouteffect at either pH. At pH 6·5 ammonium chloride solution contains predominantlyammonium ions (NH₄⁺) and at pH 11·0 predominantly dissolvedammonia gas (NH₃). Hence we conclude that phloem transport withinbean stems is inhibited by dissolved ammonia gas but not ammoniumions. Key words: Phloem translocation, transient inhibition, ammonia, ammonium ion     

Voltage transients elicited by brief chilling

Abstract Chilling auxin-depleted, etiolated stems of Pisum sativum L. to 4°C for 60 s enhanced the production of previously described voltage transients 20-fold. It is postulated that plasmalemmal permeability to Ca²⁺ is increased at low temperature, permitting influx of the ion from the apoplast to the cytosol and thereby promoting production of transients. Heating to 40°C or 45°C elicits no increase in transients, and heating to 50°C leads to loss of turgor.