Depolarization of cell membranes in leaves of Lycopersicon by extract containing Ricca's factor

Abstract

Extract containing Ricca's factor depolarizes the membrane potential of at least three types of cells in Lycopersicon leaves : mesophyll, midrib parenchyma, and midrib epidermis. The depolarization has been studied in some detail for the epidermal cells, in which depolarization appears to begin without a lag and is completed within 60–90 s. The maximum rate of depolarization is typically about 3 mV s−1. No changes in resistivity, capacivity, or intercellular electrical coupling have been detected during the depolarization.Extract from 0.5 mg fresh leaf tissue in 1 ml of water at pH 6.6 causes threshold depolarization in many experiments, and a concentration only 40 times greater is usually saturating. Raising the pH increases the concentration of factor required for saturation.With subsaturating concentrations of factor, the potential recovers somewhat after depolarization, and when factor-free medium is washed over the tissue the potential depolarizes briefly before returning to its baseline value. With saturating concentrations of factor, the potential depolarizes to an essentially stable level and no transient depolarization occurs when the factor is washed out.The potential remaining after application of a saturating concentration of factor is independent of the initial baseline potential but depends on the concentration of K+ in the equilibration medium and in the extract. The saturation level of depolarization is in the range of the Nernstian potential for K+, but whether it is precisely equal to the Nernstian potential for K+ has not been established.Evidently, the occurrence and influence of Ricca's factor should be taken into account in all electrophysiological studies of shoot tissue since the factor appears to be released whenever cells are wounded and may be released during other kinds of stress as well.