植物細胞のイオンチャンネル

概要

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Although ionic and metabolic gradients across membranes in living cells are known to be vital to cell functioning, in plants both the stiffness of cell wall and complexity of the cell compartmentalization sometimes prevent the study of membrane transport. This difficulty has, however, largely been overcome with the aid of two techniques, one employing a vibrating electrode1) and the other a patch clamp (Hamill et al., Pflügers Arch., 391, 85 (1981)). The former technique has revealed the ionic currents which flow locally around various type of cells. In the introduction to the present article, the relation of local currents with several physiological phenomena, such as pollination and cell polarity, is reviewed. The patch-clamp technique has directly led to the development of research strategies, not only on the plasma membrane, but also on the vacuolar membrane and other intracellular organelles. In fact, various types of ion channels, such as voltage-dependent, Ca2+-regulated, and phytohormone-modulated channels, have been found in plant cells. In the latter half of this article, the properties of several ion channels in the plasma and vacuolar membranes of characean cells which were identified using the patch clamp are reviewed, and their physiological functions are summarized.
日本膜学会の論文