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Environmental and Stress Physiology

Aluminum Effects on Calcium Fluxes at the Root Apex of Aluminum-Tolerant and Aluminum-Sensitive Wheat Cultivars ¹

Department of Soil, Crop and Atmospheric Sciences, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, U.S. Plant, Soil and Nutrition Laboratory, United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853

The role of Ca²⁺ transport in the mechanism of Al toxicity was investigated, using a Ca²⁺-selective microelectrode system to study Al effects on root apical Ca²⁺ fluxes in two wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cultivars: Al-tolerant Atlas 66 and Al-sensitive Scout 66. Intact 3-day-old low-salt-grown (100 micromolar CaCl₂, pH 4.5) wheat seedlings were used, and it was found that both cultivars maintained similar rates of net Ca²⁺ uptake in the absence of Al. Addition of Al concentrations that were toxic to Scout (5-20 micromolar AlCl₃) immediately and dramatically inhibited Ca²⁺ uptake in Scout, whereas Ca²⁺ transport in Atlas was relatively unaffected. The Al-induced inhibition of Ca²⁺ uptake in Scout 66 was rapidly reversed following removal of Al from the solution bathing the roots. Similar studies with morphologically intact root cell wall preparations indicated that the Al effects did not involve Al-Ca interactions in the cell wall. These results suggest that Al inhibits Ca²⁺ influx across the root plasmalemma, possibly via blockage of calcium channels. The differential effect of Al on Ca²⁺ transport in Al-sensitive Scout and Al-tolerant Atlas suggests that Al blockage of Ca²⁺ channels could play a role in the cellular mechanism of Al toxicity in higher plants.

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