Transmembrane potential, an indicator in situ reporting cellular senescence and stress response in plant tissues

Abstract

Background Plant cells usually sustain a stable membrane potential due to influx and/or efflux of charged ions across plasma membrane. With the growth and development of plants, different tissues and cells undergo systemic or local programmed decline. Whether the membrane potential of plasma membrane could report senescence signal of plant tissues and cells is unclear. Results We applied a maneuverable transmembrane potential (TMP) detection method with patch-clamp setup to examine the senescence signal of leaf tissue cells in situ over the whole life cycle in Arabidopsis thaliana. The data showed that the TMPs of plant tissues and cells were varied at different growth stages, and the change of TMP was higher at the vegetative growth stage than at the reproductive stage of plant growth. The distinct change of TMP was detectable between the normal and the senescent tissues and cells in several plant species. Moreover, diverse abiotic stimuli, such as heat stress, hyperpolarized the TMP in a short time, followed by depolarized membrane potential with the senescence occurring. We further examined the TMP of plant chloroplasts, which also indicates the senescence signal in organelles. Conclusions This convenient TMP detection method can report the senescence signal of plant tissues and cells, and can also indicate the potential of plant tolerance to environmental stress.

Salt-Induced Early Changes in Photosynthesis Activity Caused by Root-to-Shoot Signaling in Potato

“…NaCl caused hyperpolarization in the root; KCl and sorbitol caused depolarization. Previously, other researchers reported that salinity caused depolarization in tobacco [64] or hyperpolarization in Arabidopsis [65], and sorbitol caused hyperpolarization in tobacco [64] and Arabidopsis [66]. Our results may indicate species-specific features of the reaction in different plants [67].…”