ISSN:
1365-3040
Source:
Blackwell Publishing Journal Backfiles 1879-2005
Topics:
Biology
Notes:
The effects of Ca2+ and cell turgor on Na+ influx were examined in two charophytes, lamprothamnium papulo-SUM (salt-tolerant) and Chara corallina (salt-sensitive), to try to identify causes of salinity toxicity. Mortality was associated with Na+ influx, with the two species showing similar sensitivities to high Na+ influx. In Lamprothamnium, toxic influxes of Na+ occurred at much higher external Na+ concentrations than in Chara. The differences in Na+ influx at the same Na+ concentration were not due to different responses to external Ca2+. Lamprothamnium adjusts its turgor in response to increasing NaCl whereas Chara cannot. In solutions of KC1 up to at least 200 mol m-3, however, Chara regulated turgor, and when KC1 was subsequently replaced with NaCl, Na+ influx was low and similar to that in Lamprothamnium at the same Na* concentration. Chara cells which were not turgor-adjusted in KCI had Na+ influxes 2-5-fold higher than the turgid cells. Thus, it appears that turgor is a major determinant of Na+ influx, and therefore of cell survival. We found no evidence that the mechanism of Na+ influx in Chara is different from that in Lamprothamnium. Higher susceptibility of Chara to NaCl seems to result from inability to regulate turgor, in turn leading to toxic Na+ influx.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-3040.1996.tb00407.x
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