Plant plasma membrane H+-ATPases (PMAs) can be activated by phosphorylation of their penultimate residue (a Thr) and the subsequent binding of regulatory 14-3-3 proteins. Although 14-3-3 proteins usually exist as dimers and can bind two targets, the in vivo effects of their binding on the quaternary structure of H+-ATPases have never been examined. To address this question, we used a Nicotiana ...

Various studies have shown that water-stressed plants are more tolerant of ozone exposures than are unstressed plants. Two probable explanations for this tolerance are (a) stomatal closure which reduces ozone uptake and (b) biochemical or anatomical changes within the leaves. Phaseolus vulgaris cv Pinto bean plants were established and transferred to membrane systems which controlled the osmoti...

Recent experiments show that exogenous NADH increases the O(2) consumption and uptake of inorganic ions into isolated corn (Zea mays L. Pioneer Hybrid 3320) root protoplasts (Lin 1982, Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 79: 3773-3776). A mild treatment of protoplasts with trypsin released most of the NADH oxidation system from the plasmalemma (Lin 1982 Plant Physiol 70: 326-328). Further studies on this sy...

Estrogen receptor alpha (ERα) is involved in numerous physiological and pathological processes, including breast cancer. Breast cancer therapy is therefore currently directed at inhibiting the transcriptional potency of ERα, either by blocking estrogen production through aromatase inhibitors or antiestrogens that compete for hormone binding. Due to resistance, new treatment modalities are neede...

Tobacco mesophyll protoplasts were previously shown to respond to naphthaleneacetic acid by modifying their transmembrane potential difference. In the present work, evacuolated protoplasts were used to show that this response resides only at the plasmalemma. This electrical response was investigated by using polyclonal antibodies directed against plasma membrane antigens presumably involved in ...

Turgor pressure is a cellular parameter, important for a range of physiological processes in plants, like cell elongation, gas exchange and gravitropic/phototropic bending. Regulation of turgor pressure involves ion and water transport at the expense of metabolic energy (ATP). The primary pump in the plasma membrane (the H(+)-ATPase) is a key player in turgor regulation since it provides the dr...

It was reported earlier that 7B-1 mutant in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.), an ABA overproducer, is defective in blue light (BL) signaling leading to BL-specific resistance to abiotic and biotic stresses. In this work, we examine responses of stomata to blue, red and white lights, fusicoccin, anion channel blockers (anthracene-9-carboxylic acid; 9-AC and niflumic acid; NIF) and ABA. Our resul...

The fusicoccin binding protein (FCBP) is a highly conserved plasma membrane protein present in all higher plants tested thus far. It exhibits high- and low-affinity binding for the fungal toxin fusicoccin (FC). We purified the active FCBP from a fraction highly enriched in plasma membrane by selective precipitation and anion exchange chromatography. After SDS-PAGE, the two FCBP subunits of 30 a...

Microelectrodes were used to measure simultaneously the effects of indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) on membrane potential and cytosolic pH of corn coleoptile cells. IAA caused an initial depolarization followed by hyperpolarization, the latter displaying rhythmic oscillations. The extent of the changes in membrane potential was dependent on IAA concentration, and hyperpolarization, but not depolariza...