The Ca2+-Induced Phase Transformation in Soybean Root Microsomal Membranes is a Consequence of Phospholipase Activation

Microsomes from soybean (Glycine max L.) roots contain a Ca²⁺-activatedphospholipase D which hydrolyzes phosphatidylethanolamine andphosphatidylcholine to phosphatidic acid. The phosphatidic acidbinds Ca²⁺ in the medium and undergoes a liquid crystal to gelphase transformation (measured by wide-angle x-ray diffraction).The gel phase formation in the microsomes half-saturates at1 to 10 mM Ca²⁺. The upper limit for the transition temperaturefor the microsomes is –10 to 10°C in the native state.After treatment with Ca²⁺, the transition temperature increasesto 35 to 50°C. Under the same experimental conditions, incubationwith 10 mM Ca²⁺ at 4°C causes an increase in phosphatidicacid content from 8 mole % to 49% with a concomitant decreasein phosphatidylethanolamine and phosphatidylcholine from about22% and 41%, respectively, to 14% each. These results suggest that Ca²⁺ effects in systems where Ca²⁺plays a multifunctional role be interpreted with caution. ³Present address: Department of Physiology, Yale UniversitySchool of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, U.S.A. (Received June 15, 1985; Accepted June 13, 1986)