Effect of Root Position on Measured Root Position on Measured Root Membrane Potentials

Root membrane potentials were measured by interposing a plantroot between two KCI solutions of different concentrations.The potentials measured across the two calomel electrodes werefound to depend on the position of the root. The potentialswere found to be lower when the root tip rather than the rootbase was in contact with the more concentrated solution. Thisindicates that the two parts of the root do not have the samein transport properties. Using an approximate theoretical treatmentthe observed potentials could be accounted for.