Abstract
Cytosolic calcium signals are evoked by a large variety of biotic and abiotic stimuli and play an important role in cellular and long distance signalling in plants. While the function of the plasma membrane in cytosolic Ca(2+) signalling has been intensively studied, the role of the vacuolar membrane remains elusive. A newly developed vacuolar voltage clamp technique was used in combination with live-cell imaging, to study the role of the vacuolar membrane in Ca(2+) and pH homeostasis of bulging root hair cells of Arabidopsis. Depolarisation of the vacuolar membrane caused a rapid increase in the Ca(2+) concentration and alkalised the cytosol, while hyperpolarisation led to the opposite responses. The relationship between the vacuolar membrane potential, the cytosolic pH and Ca(2+) concentration suggests that a vacuolar H(+) /Ca(2+) exchange mechanism plays a central role in cytosolic Ca(2+) homeostasis. Mathematical modelling further suggests that the voltage-dependent vacuolar Ca(2+) homeostat could contribute to calcium signalling when coupled to a recently discovered K(+) channel-dependent module for electrical excitability of the vacuolar membrane.
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