Transport properties of mobile charges in algal membranes: Influence of pH and turgor pressure

Abstract

Charge-pulse experiments were performed on giant algal cells ofValonia utricularis. If the tonoplast and plasmalemma in series are charged to voltages of the order of 10mV, the decay of the initial voltage with time can be described by the sum of two or three exponential relaxations. It is not possible to explain the exponential decay of the voltage by twoRC-circuits in series (e.g. tonoplast and plasmalemma), because this would lead to unreasonable values for the specific capacities of the two membranes. The exponential relaxations might be attributable to the transport of mobile negative charges present in both membranes, possibly as a part of a transport system. From an analysis of the experimental results in terms of the proposed model, the translocation rate constantk and the total surface densityN t of the mobile charges in one membrane could be evaluated. On averagek is of the order of 600 sec−1 andNt is about 5×10−12 mol cm−2 (average turgor pressure 1.6 bar). The transport properties of the mobile charges within the tonoplast and plasmalemma were studied as a function of different parameters such as external pH, glutardialdehyde, electrical breakdown and turgor pressure. When the pH is lowered from 8.2 to 4 or 5 the mobile charges disappear completely, presumably as the result of protonation of the anionic groups. This pH effect was found to be completely reversible. Electrical breakdown causes a reversible disappearance of the relaxation with the longer half-time due to the decrease in membrane resistance. The value of the electrical breakdown voltage determined by injection of charge pulses of 300-μsec duration into the cell is pH-independent and therefore is consistent with the mobile charge model and with results previously reported (U. Zimmermann & R. Benz.J. Membrane Biol 53:33–43, 1980). Addition of glutardialdehyde leads also to a disappearance of the mobile charges probably due to cross-linkage. Increase of the turgor pressure from 0.05 bar to 2 bar results in an increase ink by a factor of 2 and inNt by about 30%. The increase ink is in reasonable agreement with that expected on the basis of the assumed compressibility of the membranes. The elastic compressive modulus perpendicular to the membrane plane calculated from the pressure dependence of the translocation rate constantk is in very good agreement with that derived from electrical breakdown experiments (14 and 13 bar, respectively). The presence of charges within the membranes as well as the compressibility of the membranes are discussed in terms of a possible turgor-pressure-sensing mechanism.