Abstract
Phytochrome-mediated germination of fern spores of Dryopteris paleacea Sw. was initiated by a saturating red-light (R) irradiation after 20 h of imbibition. For its realization external Ca2+ was required, with a threshold at a submicromolar concentration, and an optimum was reached around 10-4 M. At concentrations ≥10-1 M only a reduced response was obtained, based probably on an unspecific osmotic or ionic effect. The germination response was inhibited by La3+, an antagonist of Ca2+. From these results it is concluded that Ca2+ influx from the medium into the spores may be an important event in phytochrome-mediated germination. In the absence of Ca2+ the R-stimulated system remained capable of responding to Ca2+, added as late as 40 h after R. Moreover, Ca2+ was effective even if added after the active form of phytochrome, Pfr, had been abolished by far-red (FR) 24 h after R. Thus, the primary effect of Pfr, that initiates the transduction chain, does not require calcium. “Coupling” of Pfr to subsequent dark reactions has been investigated by R-FR irradiations with various dark intervals. The resulting “escape kinetics” were characterized by a lag phase (6 h) and half-maximal escape from FR reversibility (19 h). These kinetics were not significantly changed by the presence or absence of calcium. Thus, direct interaction of Pfr and calcium is not a step in the transduction chain initiated by the active form of photochrome.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
Abbreviations
- EGTA:
-
ethyleneglycol-bis(β-aminoethyl ether)-N,N,N′,N′-tetraacetic acid
- FR:
-
far-red light
- Pr:
-
red-light-absorbing form of phytochrome
- Pfr:
-
far red-light-absorbing form of phytochrome
- Pipes:
-
piperazine-1,4-bis(2-ethanesulfonic acid)
- R:
-
red light
References
Bossen, M.E., Dassen, H.H.A., Kendrick, R.E., Vredenberg, W.J. (1988) The role of Ca2+ in phytochrome-controlled swelling of etiolated wheat protoplasts. Planta 174, 94–100
Campbell, N.A., Thomson, W.W. (1977) Effects of lanthanum and ethylenediaminetetraacetate on leaf movements of Mimosa. Plant Physiol. 60, 635–639
Dreyer, E.M., Weisenseel, M.H. (1979) Phytochrome-mediated uptake of calcium in Mougeotia cells. Planta 146, 31–39
Edwards, M.E., Miller, J.H. (1972) Growth regulation by ethylene in fern gametophytes. III. Inhibition of spore germination. Am. J. Bot. 59, 458–465
Haupt, W., Weisenseel, M.H. (1976) Physiological evidence and some thoughts on localised responses, intracellular localisation and action of phytochrome. In: Light and plant development, pp. 63–74, Smith, H., ed. Butterworths, Boston London
Haupt, W., Scheuerlein, R., Mische, S., Mader, U. (1986) Control of fern-spore germination by phytochrome and inorganic ions. Proc. of the XVI Yamada Conf., Okazaki, Japan, p. 119
Haupt, W., Leopold, K., Scheuerlein, R. (1988) Light-induced fern-spore germination: Effect of spore age on responsivity to light. J. Photochem. Photobiol. 1, 415–427
Hendricks, S.B., Borthwick, H.A. (1967) The function of phytochrome in regulation of plant growth. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 58, 2125–2130
Kauss, H. (1987) Some aspects of calcium-dependent regulation in plant metabolism. Annu. Rev. Plant Physiol. 38, 47–72
Kendrick, R.E. (1983) The physiology of phytochrome action. In: The biology of photoreception. Soc. Exp. Biol. Symp. 36, 275–303
Lamb, C.J., Lawton, M.A. (1983) Photocontrol of gene expression. In: Encyclopedia of Plant Physiology, N.S., vol. 16A: Photomorphogenesis, pp 213–257, Shropshire W., Jr., Mohr, H. eds. Springer, Berlin Heidelberg New York Tokyo
Lettvin, J.Y., Pickard, W.F., McCulloch, W.S., Pitts, W. (1964) A theory of passive ion flux through axon membranes. Nature 202, 1338–1339
Mohr, H., Shropshire, W., Jr. (1983) An introduction to photomorphogenesis for the general reader. In: Encyclopedia of Plant Physiology, N.S., vol. 16A: Photomorphogenesis, pp. 24–38, Shropshire, W., Jr., Mohr, H., eds. Springer, Berlin Heidelberg New York Tokyo
Newman, I.A. (1981) Rapid electric responses of oats to phytochrome show membrane processes unrelated to pelletability. Plant Physiol. 68, 1494–1499
Quail, P.H., Briggs, W.R., Pratt, L.H. (1978) In vivo phosphorylation of phytochrome. Carnegie Inst. Washington Yearb. 77, 342–344
Racusen, R.H. (1976) Phytochrome control of electrical potentials and intercellular coupling in oat-coleoptile tissue. Planta 132, 25–29
Roux, S.J., Wayne, R.O., Datta, N. (1986) Role of calcium ions in phytochrome response: an update. Physiol. Plant. 66, 344–348
Schäfer, E., Apel, K., Batschauer, A., Mösinger, E. (1986) The molecular biology of action. In: Photomorphogenesis in plants, pp. 83–98, Kendrick, R.E., Kronenberg, G.H.M., eds. Martinus Nijhoff/Dr. W. Junk, Dordrecht Boston Lancaster
Scheuerlein, R., Koller, D. (1988) Intermediates in the photoconversion of functional phytochrome in fern spores of Dryopteris. I. Demonstration and quantitative characterization of the photochromic system Pr⇌I i700 using nanosecond-laser pulses. Photochem. Photobiol. 48, 511–518
Scheuerlein, R., Eilfeld, P., Rüdiger, W. (1986) Single- and double-flash photoconversion of phytochrome in vivo and in vitro. J. Plant Physiol. 126, 119–134
Scheuerlein, R., Wayne, R., Roux, S.J. (1988) Early quantitative method for measuring germination in non-green spores of Dryopteris paleacea using an epifluorescence-microscope technique. Physiol. Plant. 73, 505–511
Serlin, B.S., Roux, S.J. (1984) Modulation of chloroplast movement in the green alga Mougeotia by the Ca2+ ionophore A23187 and by calmodulin antagonists. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 81, 6368–6372
Spruit, C.J.P. (1982) Phytochrome intermediates in vivo. IV. Kinetics of Pfr emergence. Photochem. Photobiol. 35, 117–121
Stenz, H.-G., Weisenseel, M.H. (1986) Phytochrome mediates a reduction of the surface charge of Mesotaenium cells. J. Plant Physiol. 122, 159–168
Thomson, W.W., Platt, K.A., Campbell, N. (1973) The use of lanthanum to delineate the apoplastic continuum in plants. Cytobios 8, 57–62
Toriyama, H., Jaffe, M.J. (1972) Migration of calcium and its role in the regulation of seismonasty in the motor cell of Mimosa pudica L. Plant Physiol. 49, 72–81
Wayne, R. (1985) The contribution of calcium ions and hydrogen ions to the signal transduction chain in phytochrome-mediated fern spore germination. Ph.D. Thesis, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, USA
Wayne, R., Hepler, P.K. (1984) The role of calcium ions in phytochrome-mediated germination of spores of Onoclea sensibilis L. Planta 160, 12–20
Wayne, R., Hepler, P.K. (1985) Red light stimulates an increase in intracellular calcium in the spores of Onoclea sensibilis. Plant Physiol. 77, 8–11
Weisenseel, M.H., Ruppert, H.K. (1977) Phytochrome and calcium ions are involved in light-induced membrane depolarization in Nitella. Planta 137, 225–229
Wong, Y.-S., Cheng, H.-C., Walsh, D.A., Lagarias, J.C. (1986) Phosphorylation of Avena phytochrome in vitro as a probe of light-induced conformational changes. J. Biol. Chem. 261, 12089–12097
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Scheuerlein, R., Wayne, R. & Roux, S.J. Calcium requirement of phytochrome-mediated fern-spore germination: No direct phytochrome-calcium interaction in the phytochrome-initiated transduction chain. Planta 178, 25–30 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00392523
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00392523