Effect of oxygen concentration on leaf photosynthesis and resistances to carbon dioxide diffusion

Summary Net photosynthesis of tropical legume leaves increased by 44% and that of tropical grass leaves was unaffected when oxygen concentration was reduced from 21 to 0.2%. Stomatal resistance to carbon dioxide diffusion was unaltered in both cases but mesophyll resistance of legume leaves decreased with oxygen concentration. It is proposed that the decrease in mesophyll resistance is accompanied by decreases in excitation and carboxylation resistances.     

The autoregulation of intracellular oxygen tension and the modification of cellular radiosensitivity. The development of an adaptation hypothesis

A hypothesis is reported postulating that the range within which the intracellular oxygen content varies with changes in the external oxygenation conditions is responsible for the oxygen-dependent radiosensitivity modification that may be controlled by the diffusion resistance of a cytoplasmic membrane. The adaptation mechanism of intracellular Po2 autoregulation is involved when drastic changes in the oxygen content of the environment occur. As the oxygen content decreases this mechanism provides maximal values of the intracellular Po2 required for optimizing cell viability; the increased oxygen content prevents cells from oxygen intoxication.     

A New Procedure for the Calculation of Oxygen Diffusion Resistance in Legume Nodules from Flow-through Gas Analysis Data

Plants of white lupin (Lupinus albus L cv Multolupa) and soyabean(Glycine max L cv Clarke) were grown in controlled-environmentcabinets, subjected to various stresses and their nodular nitrogenaseactivity and total root respiration measured When these measurementswere used to calculate nodular oxygen diffusion resistance,using a simplified equation for Fick's first law of diffusion,it was found that the apparent resistance of stressed nodulesincreased anomalously with decreases in external oxygen concentrationA new analysis procedure is proposed to alleviate this anomalyThis procedure also uses the simplified Fick's law equationbut includes a respiratory contribution to the total oxygenflux across the diffusion barrier which is not coupled to nitrogenaseactivity Also, resistance is modelled as an exponential functionof external oxygen concentration Use of this analysis procedureproduces realistic values for total resistance and providesa characterisation of this resistance into a minimum value andan adjustment factor for changes in external oxygen It is postulatedthat the additional respiration component represents the activityof nodule cortex cells involved in the diffusion barrier, particularlythat of vascular bundles Oxygen diffusion resistance, nodule, nitrogen fixation, respiration     

Evapotranspiration of Maize Plant in the Northern Part of the Linze Oasis

Evapotranspiration (ET) of maize plant during the developmental stages was measured with electronic weighing lysimeters. The results show that the crop ET varied with watering conditions and reached its maximum in the blooming-grouting period. The ratio ground evaporation to maize transpiration is 1:4. Influence of field micro-climate to crop ET is comprehensive, and solar radiation plays a leading role. Stomatal diffusion resistance is negative correlateff with the rate of crop ET . Leaf water potential decreases along with the acceleration of crop ET. Our preliminary conclusion is that stomatal diffusion resistance and leaf water potential would be the two important parameters of soil-plant-atmospheric water circulation.     

Inhibition of acid secretion of fundus of Rana pipiens with a high concentration of potassium on the secretory side

Inhibition of acid secretion of the frog fundus is generally accompanied by an increase in transmucosal resistance, Rt, and in potential difference, PD (nutrient normally positive). These results are predicted for the intact tissue by an electrogenic proton pump. It has been suggested that the increase in PD with inhibition can also be explained by a neutral proton pump. The latter model postulates a K+ diffusion potential across the secretory (lumen-facing) membrane tending to make the secretory side positive. Upon inhibition, the [K+] in the lumen is assumed to increase, which decreases the diffusion potential, resulting in an increase in the positivity of the nutrient side. To test this theory, we determined the effects of inhibition with a high [K+] on the secretory side. With a high [K+] in the lumina, inhibition would result in only a small change in the ratio of K+ in the cell to that in the lumina, and hence a small change in the diffusion potential. We found, however, that inhibition increased the PD essentially the same as in the controls. With inhibition the resistance also increased with high secretory K+. Elevating the secretory K+ during secretion produced a 44% decrease in Rt indicating a large increase in luminal K+. We conclude that the results are not compatible with the K+ diffusion potential model but are those predicted by the electrogenic concept.     

The Resistance of the Diffusion Barrier in Nodules of Myrica gale L. Changes in Response to Temperature but Not to Partial Pressure of O2

Rates of C2H2 reduction and CO2 evolution by nodules were measured in a flowthrough system using intact plants of Myrica gale L. Both activities increased linearly with increasing partial pressure of O2 (pO2) up to 18 kPa. The linear relationship between CO2 evolution and pO2 at pO2 values between 6 and 18 kPa suggests that the diffusion barrier has a constant resistance. The lack of a variable resistance was further supported by sustained increases and decreases in nodule activities in response to changes in pO2 in the range of 6 to 20 kPa O2. When pO2 was increased above 20 kPa, C2H2 reduction and CO2 evolution continually declined with time. These results confirm that the diffusion barrier in nodules of M. gale is not variable in response to changes in pO2. The effect of temperature was examined at 8 and 20 kPa O2. Rates of C2H2 reduction and CO2 evolution increased with increasing temperature from 10 to 30[deg]C at both pO2 values. These results indicate that the diffusion resistance of the barrier changes as temperature changes, with the resistance decreasing as temperature increases.     

Overexpression of epidermal growth factor receptor in NIH-3T3- transfected cells slows its lateral diffusion and rate of endocytosis

Interactions between membrane proteins are believed to be important for the induction of transmembrane signaling. Endocytosis is one of the responses which is regulated by both intracellular and extracellular signals. To study such interactions, we have measured the lateral mobility and rate of endocytosis of epidermal growth factor receptor in three transfected NIH-3T3 cell lines (HER84, HER22, and HER82) expressing 2 X 10(4), 2 X 10(5) and 1.5 X 10(6) EGF-receptors per cell, respectively. Using rhodamine-labeled EGF (Rh-EGF) and rhodamine-labeled monoclonal anti-EGF-receptor antibody (Rh-mAb-108), we measured twofold decreases in the lateral diffusion coefficients for each approximately 10-fold increase in EGF-receptor concentration. Since steric effects cannot account for such dependence, we propose that protein mobility within the membrane, which is determined by the rate of motion between immobile barriers, decreases due to aggregate formation. The rate of endocytosis also decreases twofold between the HER84 (2 X 10(4) receptors/cell) and HER22 (2 X 10(5) receptors/cell) cell lines, suggesting that it is diffusion limited. The comparable rates of endocytosis of the HER82 and HER22 cell lines suggest that at high receptor density endocytosis may be limited by the total number of sites for receptors in coated-pits and by their rate of recycling.     

Exchange diffusion of alkali ions through the apoplast of the potato (Soianum tuberosum L.) storage parenchyma

Interdiffusion coefficients of K and Na for tangential transport through cell walls were found to be independent of ion strength and only moderately (c. 50%) lower than values known for diffusion in water. Although at low salt concentrations alkali ion exchange diffusion on the cell wall pathway is facilitated by accumulation of diffusing species in the Donnan space, at all concentrations the resistance of the whole tissue for apoplastic cation exchange diffusion remained significantly higher than that of unstirred liquid of equal thickness, as the area fraction of the cell wall pathway in the parenchyma is small.     

Specific resistance and electrophoretic mobility of regenerating liver cells. Effect of ribonuclease and neuraminidase]

Changes of specific resistance and electrophoretic mobility of the cells from regenerative liver of rats are investigated. It is shown that specific resistance decreases and electrophoretic mobility increases during 30 h after hepathectomy. Exogenous ribonuclease decreases electrophoretic mobility by 10% and does not reduce significantly specific resistance. Neuraminidase treatment caused a marked increase (approximately 40%) of specific resistance without reduction in the mobility of cells from both intact and regenerative liver. It is concluded that there is no difference in the sensitivity of the cell surface of normal and regenerative liver to ribonuclease and neuraminidase.     

Quantitative cytochemical analysis of immobilised hybridoma cells

Summary The activity of hybridoma cells immobilised in agarose gels is observed to decline with time in a manner consistent with oxygen diffusion limitation. The final thickness of the active cell layer is dependent on the initial cell density. The effect of diffusion resistance is more pronounced in medium without serum.     

Determination of cell membrane permeability in concentrated cell ensembles

The method of volume averaging is used to analyze the process of diffusion in concentrated cell ensembles in which significant resistance to mass transfer is caused by the cellular membrane. A general closure scheme is given that allows for direct theoretical prediction of effective diffusivities for any cellular geometry. Numerical results are presented for the classical parallelepiped arrangement used to model cellular systems, and these results are used in conjunction with experimental studies of concentrated cell ensembles to determine membrane permeabilities for solute diffusion in several cellular systems. Membrane permeabilities are compared with predictions from other models of diffusion in cellular systems.     

Effect of villosity and distension on the absorptive and secretory flux in the small intestine

The effects of villosity and distension on the absorptive and secretory flux in the small intestine were investigated theoretically in a simplified model. In the case of low epithelial permeability, villosity increases both fluxes by surface enlargement, but in the case of high epithelial permeability, this occurred only if the intervillous spaces are very narrow. Otherwise, the flux is reduced due to the intervillous diffusion resistance, which is more effective than the enlargement of the surface area in that case. Distension increases the fluxes due to the additional surface exposed, by opening the intervillous spaces. In the case of low epithelial permeability this increase exceeds that expected from the enlargement of the smooth inner cylindrical surface area. In the case of high epithelial permeability, however, the increase of the fluxes exceeds surface enlargement only in the first phase, just after opening the intervillous spaces. Otherwise, the increase of the flux is less, since the hindrance by the intervillous diffusion resistance is more effective than the increase of the smooth inner cylindrical surface area. In the intervillous spaces the concentration gradient is non-linear with the steepest slope at the entrance due to the permeation through the lateral surfaces of the villi. The gradient approaches linearity in the center of broad intervillous spaces and becomes steeper when the width decreases and the epithelial permeability increases. In rat small intestine broad intervillous spaces are formed at the front sides of the trapezoidal villi by the predominant circular distension. The diffusion resistance in these spaces and the increase of the supravillous diffusion resistance weaken the increase of the absorptive and secretory flux by distension, especially in the case of high epithelial permeability.     

Oscillations of voltage and resistance in Malpighian tubules of Aedes aegypti

The transepithelial voltage (V(t)) of isolated Malpighian tubules of the yellow fever mosquito Aedes aegypti spontaneously oscillates in more than half the tubules. Typically, V(t) decreases and then rises at a frequency of 2 oscillations/min with a duration of 16 s. In 6 isolated perfused tubules studied in detail, V(t) oscillates between 50.5 mV and 15.7 mV in parallel with (1) oscillations of the transepithelial resistance (R(t)) between 7.61 kOmegacm and 3.63 kOmegacm, (2) oscillations of the basolateral membrane voltage of principal cells between -56.7 mV and -72.2 mV, and (3) oscillations of the apical membrane voltage between 107.2 mV and 87.8 mV. The oscillations are dependent on the Cl concentration in the extracellular solutions. As R(t) decreases during the oscillations V(t) goes to the transepithelial equilibrium potential of Cl (E(cl)) indicating transient changes in transepithelial Cl conductance as the mechanism of voltage and resistance oscillations. Since the largest voltage oscillations take place across the whole epithelium and not across cell membranes, oscillating Cl conductances are localized to a single transepithelial Cl diffusion barrier such as the paracellular pathway. This conclusion is supported by the analysis of electrically equivalent circuits that identify the shunt pathway as the site of oscillating Cl conductances.     

A Re-Evaluation of the Role of the Infected Cell in the Control of O2 Diffusion in Legume Nodules

Two different simulation models were constructed to describe O2 diffusion into the bacteria-infected cells of legume nodules: one based on a central zone of uniform spherical cells and the other on a central zone of packed, uniform cubical cells with air spaces along the edges. The cubical model more closely approximated the geometry and gas diffusion characteristics of infected cells than did the spherical model. The models relied on set values for the innermost O2 concentration in the infected cell (1-20 nM) and predicted values for the free O2 and oxygenated leghemoglobin gradients toward the cell:space interface. The cubical model but not the spherical model predicted saturation of leghemoglobin (Lb) oxygenation at or within a few micrometers of the gas-filled intercellular space and predicted that the space concentration could be as high as 1.3% O2 when the fractional oxygenation of Lb and respiration rate within the infected cell were typical of that which has been measured in vivo. In the model, the higher the space O2 concentration, the greater the saturation of Lb by O2 and the greater the collapse of Lb-facilitated diffusion near the cell:space interface. This was predicted to result in a greater resistance to O2 diffusion from the space to the bacteroids, thereby providing an intrinsic, homeostatic mechanism for controlling the rate of O2 influx into infected cells. Changes in the physiological features of the simulated cubical infected cell, such as the proportion of the cell as cytosol, the surface area of the cell exposed to a space, the maximum rate of cellular respiration, or the concentration of Lb in the cytoplasm, significantly altered the extent to which the infected cell would be able to regulate its diffusive resistance. These results demonstrate the possibility of a Lb-based mechanism for controlling the O2 concentration within the infected cells. If such a mechanism exists in legume nodules, it would give the infected cell an ability to exercise fine control over its internal environment, a process that could complement a physical diffusion barrier that may exist in the inner cortex or elsewhere in the nodule and provide coarse control over O2 diffusion.     

Ozone concentration in leaf intercellular air spaces is close to zero

Transpiration and ozone uptake rates were measured simultaneously in sunflower leaves at different stomatal openings and various ozone concentrations. Ozone uptake rates were proportional to the ozone concentration up to 1500 nanoliters per liter. The leaf gas phase diffusion resistance (stomatal plus boundary layer) to water vapor was calculated and converted to the resistance to ozone multiplying it by the theoretical ratio of diffusion coefficients for water vapor and ozone in air (1.67). The ozone concentration in intercellular air spaces calculated from the ozone uptake rate and diffusion resistance to ozone scattered around zero. The ozone concentration in intercellular air spaces was measured directly by supplying ozone to the leaf from one side and measuring the equilibrium concentration above the other side, and it was found to be zero. The total leaf resistance to ozone was proportional to the gas phase resistance to water vapor with a coefficient of 1.68. It is concluded that ozone enters the leaf by diffusion through the stomata, and is rapidly decomposed in cell walls and plasmalemma.     

Control of Nitrogen Fixation in a Legume Nodule: an Analysis of the Role of Oxygen Diffusion in Relation to Nodule Structure

A mathematical model of oxygen diffusion in a legume root noduleis constructed and validated. The required properties, functionsand possible locations of the major resistance to oxygen diffusionare investigated and support is given to the concept of a partwater-filled diffusion pathway. The model predicts that in theabsence of leghaemoglobin an infected cell would have oxygendamaged nitrogenase in bacteroids close to an air space andanaerobic conditions around those towards its centre. Leghaemoglobinis essential for maintaining a fairly uniform level of nitrogenaseactivity within the infected cells, but it cannot prevent damageat high oxygen concentrations. Nevertheless, the nitrogenaseactivity of a nodule can increase with increasing oxygen concentrationeven though some enzyme damage occurs. In the absence of a variablediffusion resistance, the oxygen tolerance of nitrogenase isrelated to carbohydrate supply and in a normal atmosphere nitrogenfixation is limited by oxygen diffusion. Oxygen, diffusion, nitrogen fixation     

A Model of the Regulation of Nitrogenase Electron Allocation in Legume Nodules (II. Comparison of Empirical and Theoretical Studies in Soybean)

In N2-fixing legumes, the proportion of total electron flow through nitrogenase (total nitrogenase activity, TNA) that is used for N2 fixation is called the electron allocation coefficient (EAC). Previous studies have proposed that EAC is regulated by the competitive inhibition of H2 on N2 fixation and that the degree of H2 inhibition can be affected by a nodule's permeability to gas diffusion. To test this hypothesis, EAC was measured in soybean (Glycine max L. Merr.) nodules exposed to various partial pressures of H2 and N2, with or without changes in TNA or nodule permeability to gas diffusion, and the results were compared with the predictions of a mathematical model that combined equations for gas diffusion and competitive inhibition of N2 fixation (A. Moloney and D.B. Layzell [1993] Plant Physiol 103: 421-428). The empirical data clearly showed that decreases in EAC were associated with increases in external pH2, decreases in external pN2, and decreases in nodule permeability to O2 diffusion. The model predicted similar trends in EAC, and the small deviations that occurred between measured and predicted values could be readily accounted for by altering one or more of the following model assumptions: K1(H2) of nitrogenase (range from 2-4% H2), Km(N2) of nitrogenase (range from 4-5% N2), the allocation of less than 100% of whole-nodule respiration to tissues within the diffusion barrier, and the presence of a diffusion pathway that is open pore versus closed pore. The differences in the open-pore and closed-pore versions of the model suggest that it may be possible to use EAC measurements as a tool for the study of legume nodule diffusion barrier structure and function. The ability of the model to predict EAC provided strong support for the hypothesis that H2 inhibition of N2 fixation plays a major role in the in vivo control of EAC and that the presence of a variable barrier to gas diffusion affects the H2 and N2 concentration in the infected cell and, therefore, the degree of H2 inhibition.     

Function of Nicotiana tabacum aquaporins as chloroplast gas pores challenges the concept of membrane CO2 permeability

Photosynthesis is often limited by the rate of CO(2) diffusion from the atmosphere to the chloroplast. The primary resistances for CO(2) diffusion are thought to be at the stomata and at photosynthesizing cells via a combination resulting from resistances of aqueous solution as well as the plasma membrane and both outer and inner chloroplast membranes. In contrast with stomatal resistance, the resistance of biological membranes to gas transport is not widely recognized as a limiting factor for metabolic function. We show that the tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) plasma membrane and inner chloroplast membranes contain the aquaporin Nt AQP1. RNA interference-mediated decreases in Nt AQP1 expression lowered the CO(2) permeability of the inner chloroplast membrane. In vivo data show that the reduced amount of Nt AQP1 caused a 20% change in CO(2) conductance within leaves. Our discovery of CO(2) aquaporin function in the chloroplast membrane opens new opportunities for mechanistic examination of leaf internal CO(2) conductance regulation.     

Studies on the electrical properties of a single plant cell; internodal cell of Nitella flexilis

Impedance changes of single plant cells of Nitella flexilis were studied under different environmental conditions. With the analysis presented changes in resistance of the protoplasmic membrane and of cell sap can be studied independently and simultaneously. Under "transcellular osmosis," the resistance of the protoplasmic membrane and of the cell sap increase at the part of the cell where water enters, while they decrease where water goes out. Ethanol of low concentration (below 8 per cent) first decreases and later increases the resistance of the protoplasmic membrane. Concentrated ethanol (over 10 per cent), however, brings about a large decrease in resistance of the protoplasmic membrane. Its time course is not simple, but undulatory changes occur. When ethanol is applied to one part of the cell, the resistance of the protoplasmic membrane shows a different type of change, which may be attributed to the local osmotic effect of ethanol; injury generally occurs with comparatively low concentration. Methanol, ethanol, and propanol have almost the same effect upon the cell, while butanol is toxic at the same concentration. When the cell dies, the resistance of the protoplasmic membrane decreases greatly, while the resistance of the cell sap increases to a level (several hundred kilo ohms or more), expected when external solution and cell sap are freely mixed with each other.     

A model for high-pressure ultrafiltration of blood

A semi-analytic model to predict the permeate flux during high-pressure ultrafiltration of blood with highly permeable membranes is proposed. This model explicitly considers the hydraulic resistance of the retained particles that limits the flux. An empirically derived relationship between particle surface concentration and hydraulic resistance is used. This model incorporates the axial variations in blood cell and solute surface concentrations (or concentration polarization), shear-induced diffusion coefficient for the blood cells, effective diffusion coefficient for the blood solutes, hydraulic (lumen) pressure, and flow rate. This model agrees well with experimental results in the pressure-independent filtration flux region.