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First published online January 23, 2003; 10.1104/pp.011791

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Plant Physiol, March 2003, Vol. 131, pp. 1391-1400

A Novel Clminus Inward-Rectifying Current in the Plasma Membrane of the Calcifying Marine Phytoplankton Coccolithus pelagicus1

Alison R. Taylor* and Colin Brownlee

The Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, The Laboratory, Citadel Hill, Plymouth PL1 2PB, United Kingdom

We investigated the membrane properties and dominant ionic conductances in the plasma membrane of the calcifying marine phytoplankton Coccolithus pelagicus using the patch-clamp technique. Whole-cell recordings obtained from decalcified cells revealed a dominant anion conductance in response to membrane hyperpolarization. Ion substitution showed that the anion channels were selective for Cl- and Br- over other anions, and the sensitivity to the stilbene derivative 4,4'-diisothiocyanatostilbene-2,2'-disulfonic acid, ethacrynic acid, and Zn2+ revealed a pharmacological profile typical of many plant and animal anion channels. Voltage activation and kinetic characteristics of the C. pelagicus Cl- channel are consistent with a novel function in plants as the inward rectifier that tightly regulates membrane potential. Membrane depolarization gave rise to nonselective cation currents and in some cases evoked action potential currents. We propose that these major ion conductances play an essential role in membrane voltage regulation that relates to the unique transport physiology of these calcifying phytoplankton.

1 This work was supported by the European Union (grant no. IN104381-2083810 to C.B.), by a Leverhulme Special Research Fellowship (to A.R.T.), and by the Biotechnology and Biological Science Research Council (grant no. 226/P15068 to A.R.T. and C.B.).

* Corresponding author; e-mail arta{at}mba.ac.uk; fax 44-1752-633102.

© 2003 American Society of Plant Biologists




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