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. 1985 Nov;79(3):843–847. doi: 10.1104/pp.79.3.843

The Hypersensitive Reaction of Tobacco to Pseudomonas syringae pv. pisi1

Activation of a Plasmalemma K+/H+ Exchange Mechanism

Merelee M Atkinson 1,2,2, Jeng-Sheng Huang 1,2, James A Knopp 1,2
PMCID: PMC1074981  PMID: 16664502

Abstract

Net electrolyte efflux from suspension-cultured tobacco cells undergoing the hypersensitive reaction to Pseudomonas syringae pv. pisi resulted from a specific efflux of K+ which was accompanied by an equimolar net influx of H+. These fluxes began 60 to 90 minutes after inoculation of tobacco cells with bacteria, reached maximum rates of 6 to 9 micromoles per gram fresh weight tobacco cells per hour within 2.5 to 3 hours, and dropped below 4 micromoles per gram per hour within 5 hours. Tobacco cells lost approximately 35% of total K+ during this period, and average cellular pH declined by approximately 0.75 pH unit. These events were accompanied by a 30% decrease in cellular ATP. K+ and H+ fluxes were inhibited by the protonophore (p-trifluoromethoxy)carbonyl cyanide phenylhydrazone and by increasing the K+ concentration of the external solution. Tobacco leaf discs inoculated with the bacterium also exhibited a specific net K+ efflux and H+ influx. These results suggest that induction of the hypersensitive reaction in tobacco proceeds through the activation of a passive plasmalemma K+/H+ exchange mechanism. It is hypothesized that activation of this exchange is a major contributing factor in hypersensitive plant cell death.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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