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Subprotoplasts prepared from different regions of rhizoid and thallus cells of Fucus zygotes displayed mechanosensitive plasma membrane channels in cell-attached patch-clamp experiments by using laser microsurgery. In excised patches, this channel was found to be voltage gated, carrying K+ outward and Ca2+ inward, with a relative permeability of Ca2+/K+ of 0.35 to 0.5, and an increased open probability at membrane potentials more positive than -80 mV. No significant difference was found in the density of this channel type from different regions of rhizoid or thallus cells. Hypoosmotic treatment of intact zygotes induced dramatic transient elevations of cytoplasmic Ca2+, initiating at the rhizoid apex and propagating in a wavelike manner to subapical regions. Localized initiation of the Ca2+ transient correlated with greater osmotic swelling at the rhizoid apex compared with other regions of the zygote. Ca2+ transients exhibited a refractory period between successive hypoosmotic shocks, during which additional transients could not be elicited and the ability to osmoregulate was impaired. Buffering the Ca2+ transients with microinjected Br2BAPTA similarly reduced the ability of rhizoid cells to osmoregulate. Ca2+ influx was associated with the initiation of the Ca2+ transient in apical regions, whereas intracellular sources contributed to its propagation. Thus, localized signal transduction is patterned by interactions of the cell wall, plasma membrane, and intracellular Ca2+ stores.

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Silver staining has been the method most commonly employed for high sensitivity staining of proteins following two-dimensional gel electrophoresis. Whilst this method offers detection in the nanogram range it does have major drawbacks including a lack of linearity, nonstoichiometric staining of proteins, a lack of compatibility with the microchemical preparation of proteins for identification by mass spectrometric techniques, and a highly subjective assessment of the staining endpoint. SYPRO Ruby is a relatively new, ruthenium complex-based stain which is reported to offer advantages over silver, particularly in overcoming the limitations cited above. We describe a series of experiments where several protein staining procedures commonly employed are compared. To enable optimization of the in situ digestion procedure, a statistical approach has been undertaken. The effects of a variety of staining, digestion, and analysis protocols on the downstream processing of a test radiolabeled protein were studied. The data confirms that as well as offering sensitivity similar to silver, SYPRO Ruby staining is reproducible, linear, and offers a higher level of compatibility with the identification of proteins by mass spectrometry.

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