Electrical Potentials and Na, K, and Cl Concentrations in the Vacuole and Cytoplasm of Nitella translucens

The potential differences across the tonoplast and plasmalemmamembranes have been measured in the single cells of Nitellatranslucens, the cells being immersed in an artificial pondwater (composition: NaCl _1.0 mM., KC1 _0.1 mM., CaCl₂, _0.1 mM.).The potential of the cytoplasm is –138 m V with respectto the bathing medium and –18 mV with respect to the vacuole.The concentrations of Na, K, and Cl have been measured in thetwo cell fractions. The concentrations in the flowing cytoplasmare: Na 14 mM., K 119 mM., and Cl 65 mM.; the vacuolar concentrationsare: Na 65 mM., K 75 mM.,and Cl 160 mM. The observed potential differences across the two membranesare compared with the Nernst potentials for all three ions.This analysis shows that all three ions are actively transportedat the plasmalemma: Na is pumped outwards while K and Cl arepumped inwards. At the tonoplast Na is pumped into the vacuolewhile K and Cl are close to electrochemical equilibrium. The inhibitor, ouabain, has no effect on the cell resting potential.     

Action of Benzoic Acid and its o-, m- and p-Hydroxy-Derivatives on the Dark- and Light-Induced Leaflet Movements in Cassia fasciculata Michx.

Benzoic acid and its o-, m- and p-hydroxy derivatives appliedon excised leaves of Cassia fasciculata modified the dark-induced(scotonasty) and light-induced (photonasty) leaflet movements.Benzoic acid inhibited the scotonastic closure in a dose-dependentmanner from 10^–4M to 10^–3M and promoted the photonasticopening at optimum concentration of 5.10^–4M. These effectswere dependent upon the position of hydroxyl group on the benzoicring, the o-derivative inducing a stronger effect than the m-and p-derivatives. Experiments showed that treatment with o-hydroxybenzoicacid had not to exceed 30–60 min and that the maximumeffect was obtained at pH 5.5. (Received September 16, 1986; Accepted June 22, 1987)     

Changes in the Sterol Composition of the Plasma Membrane Affect Membrane Potential,Salt Tolerance and the Activity of Multidrug Resistance Pumps in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

We investigated the impact of the deletions of genes from the final steps in the biosynthesis of ergosterol (ERG6, ERG2, ERG3, ERG5, ERG4) on the physiological function of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae plasma membrane by a combination of biological tests and the diS-C₃(3) fluorescence assay. Most of the erg mutants were more sensitive than the wild type to salt stress or cationic drugs, their susceptibilities were proportional to the hyperpolarization of their plasma membranes. The different sterol composition of the plasma membrane played an important role in the short-term and long-term processes that accompanied the exposure of erg strains to a hyperosmotic stress (effect on cell size, pH homeostasis and survival of yeasts), as well as in the resistance of cells to antifungal drugs. The pleiotropic drug-sensitive phenotypes of erg strains were, to a large extent, a result of the reduced efficiency of the Pdr5 efflux pump, which was shown to be more sensitive to the sterol content of the plasma membrane than Snq2p. In summary, the erg4Δ and erg6Δ mutants exhibited the most compromised phenotypes. As Erg6p is not involved in the cholesterol biosynthetic pathway, it may become a target for a new generation of antifungal drugs.