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Long-distance signaling within Coleus x hybridus leaves; mediated by changes in intra-leaf CO2?Rapid long-distance signaling in plants can occur via several mechanisms, including symplastic electric coupling and pressure waves. We show here in variegated Coleus leaves a rapid propagation of electrical signals that appears to be caused by changes in intra-leaf CO2 concentrations. Green leaf cells, when illuminated, undergo a rapid depolarization of their membrane potential (Vm) and an increase in their apoplastic pH (pHa) by a process that requires photosynthesis. This is followed by a slower hyperpolarization of Vm and apoplastic acidification, which do not require photosynthesis. White (chlorophyll-lacking) leaf cells, when in isolated white leaf segments, show only the slow response, but when in mixed (i.e. green and white) segments, the rapid Vm depolarization and increase in pHa propagate over more than 10 mm from the green to the white cells. Similarly, these responses propagate 12-20 mm from illuminated to unilluminated green cells. The fact that the propagation of these responses is eliminated when the leaf air spaces are infiltrated with solution indicates that the signal moves in the apoplast rather than the symplast. A depolarization of the mesophyll cells is induced in the dark by a decrease in apoplastic CO2 but not by an increase in pHa. These results support the hypothesis that the propagating signal for the depolarization of the white mesophyll cells is a photosynthetically induced decrease in the CO2 level of the air spaces throughout the leaf.
Document ID
20040112326
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
External Source(s)
Authors
Stahlberg, R.
(University of Washington Seattle 98195, United States)
Van Volkenburgh, E.
Cleland, R. E.
Date Acquired
August 21, 2013
Publication Date
July 1, 2001
Publication Information
Publication: Planta
Volume: 213
Issue: 3
ISSN: 0032-0935
Subject Category
Life Sciences (General)
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other
Keywords
NASA Discipline Plant Biology
Non-NASA Center

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