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Measurement of Vacuolar and Cytosolic pH In Vivo in Yeast Cell Suspensions
Published on: April 19, 2013
Cytoplasmic acidification with butyric acid does not alter the ionic conductivity of plasmodesmata
T L Holdaway-Clarke1, N A Walker, R J Reid
1School of Biological Sciences A12, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia.
Abstract:
The effect of lowering cytoplasmic pH on the ionic conductivity of higher-plant plasmodesmata was investigated with corn (Zea mays L. cv. Black Mexican Sweet) suspension culture cells. Exposure to butyric acid decreased the cytoplasmic pH by 0.8 units. Intercellular communication was monitored by electrophysiological techniques that allowed the measurement of membrane resistances of sister cells and the electrical resistance of the plasmodesmata connecting them. The decrease in cytoplasmic pH did not affect the resistance of plasmodesmata, despite the fact that the butyric acid treatment more than doubled the concentration of cytoplasmic calcium. This is discussed in light of previous findings that increases in cytoplasmic calcium increase the electrical resistance of plasmodesmata.
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