Kinetics and calcium-specificity of polyamine uptake in carrot protoplasts

The kinetics of putrescine and spermidine uptake and the influence of calcium on the kinetic parameters of the transport process were investigated in protoplasts isolated from carrot phloem parenchyma. Spermidine uptake dependence on external concentration was biphasic, both in the absence and in the presence of 1 mM CaCl2. In the first case, saturation was reached at 0.1 to 0.25 mM and the Km value was 43µM. When calcium was added, the Km and Vmax increased. A similar pattern was found with regard to putrescine uptake. Moreover, in order to clarify the mode of action of calcium on polyamine uptake, lanthanides (lanthanum and gadolinium) were utilised as Ca(+2)-channel antagonists. When protoplasts were preincubated with these lanthanides, the stimulatory effect exerted by Ca(+2) on polyamine uptake was almost totally abolished. On the other hand, if lanthanum was supplied instead of calcium, it gave rise to a small enhancement of polyamine transport. These results induce us to suggest that calcium acts on polyamine uptake both by binding to external sites on the plasmalemma and by penetrating into the cell.