Mechanosensory ion channels in charophyte cells: the response to touch and salinity stress

Mechanosensitive (MS) ion channels are activated by mechanical stress and then transduce this information into electrical signals. These channels are involved in the growth, development and response to environmental stress in higher plants. Detailed analyses of the electrophysiology in higher plants are difficult because such plants are composed of complex tissues. The large cells of the charophytes facilitate electrophysiological measurements and allow us to study MS ion channels at the level of single cells. We draw parallels between the process of touch-perception in freshwater Chara, and the turgor-regulating response to osmotic shock in salt-tolerant Lamprothamnium. In terms of electrophysiology, these responses can be considered in three stages: (1) stimulus perception, (2) signal transmission and (3) induction of response. In Chara the first stage is due to the receptor potential (RPD), a transient depolarization with a critical threshold that triggers action potentials, which are responsible for stages (2) and (3). Receptor potentials are generated by MS ion channels. Action potentials involve a transient influx of Ca(2+) to the cytoplasm, effluxes of K(+) and Cl(-) and a temporary decrease of turgor pressure. Reducing cell turgor increases sensitivity to mechanical stimulation. In Lamprothamnium, a hypotonic shock produces an extended depolarization that resembles an extended RPD and is responsive to osmotic rather than ionic changes. Like the action potential, a critical threshold depolarization triggers Ca(2+) influx, opening of Ca(2+)-sensitive Cl(-) channels and K(+) channels; effluxes that last over an hour and result in turgor regulation. These processes show us, in primal form and at the level of single cells, how mechanoperception occurs in higher plants. Recent progress in research into the role of MS ion channels in the freshwater and salt-tolerant Characeae is reviewed and the relevance of these findings to plants in general is considered.