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Electrophysiology of Turgor Regulation in Marine Siphonous Green Algae

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Abstract

We review electrophysiological measures of turgor regulation in some siphonous green algae, primarily the giant-celled marine algae, Valonia and Ventricaria, with particular comparison to the well studied charophyte algae Chara and Lamprothamnium. The siphonous green algae have a less negative plasma membrane potential, and are unlikely to have a proton-based chemiosmotic transport system, dominated by active electrogenic K+ uptake. We also make note of the unusual cellular structure of the siphonous green algae. Hypertonic stress, due to increased external osmotic pressure, is accompanied by positive-going potential difference (PD), increase in conductance, and slow turgor regulation. The relationship between these is not yet resolved, but may involve changes in K+ conductance (G K) or active K+ transport at both membranes. Hypotonic turgor regulation, in response to decreased external osmotic pressure, is ∼3 times faster than hypertonic turgor regulation. It is accompanied by a negative-going PD, although conductance also increases. The conductance increase and the magnitude of the PD change are strongly correlated with the magnitude of hypotonic stress.

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Acknowledgements

This work has been supported in part by NSF grants to M.A. Bisson and ARC grants to M.J. Beilby. We dedicate this paper to the memory of G.P. Findlay, whose work inspired our own.

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  1. Department of Biological Sciences, University at Buffalo, Cooke Hall 109, Buffalo, NY, 14260, USA

    M.A. Bisson

  2. Department of Biophysics, School of Physics, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia

    M.J. Beilby & V.A. Shepherd

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  1. M.A. Bisson
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Bisson, M., Beilby, M. & Shepherd, V. Electrophysiology of Turgor Regulation in Marine Siphonous Green Algae. J Membrane Biol 211, 1–14 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00232-006-0860-1

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