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Plant Physiol. (1998) 117: 1023-1030
Second Messengers Mediate Increases in Cytosolic Calcium in
Tobacco Protoplasts
Igor D. Volotovski,
Sergei G. Sokolovsky,
Olga V. Molchan, and
Marc
R. Knight1, *
Institute of Photobiology, Academy of Sciences of Belarus,
Academicheskaja Street 27, 220072 Minsk, Belarus (I.D.V., S.G.S.,
O.V.M.); and Department of Plant Sciences, University of Oxford, South
Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3RB, United Kingdom (M.R.K.)
 |
ABSTRACT |
Addition of membrane-permeable cyclic
GMP (cGMP) and cyclic AMP (cAMP) were shown to cause elevation of
cytosolic Ca2+ concentration
([Ca2+]cyt) in tobacco (Nicotiana
plumbaginofolia) protoplasts. Under the same conditions these
cyclic nucleotides were shown to provoke a physiological swelling
response in the protoplasts. Nonmembrane-permeable cAMP and cGMP were
unable to trigger a detectable [Ca2+]cyt
response. Cyclic-nucleotide-mediated elevations in
[Ca2+]cyt involved both internal and external
Ca2+ stores. Both cAMP- and cGMP-mediated
[Ca2+]cyt elevations could be inhibited by
the Ca2+-channel blocker verapamil. Addition of inhibitors
of phosphodiesterases (isobutylmethylxanthine and zaprinast) and the
adenylate cyclase agonist forskolin to the protoplasts (predicted to
elevate in vivo cyclic-nucleotide concentrations) caused elevations in
[Ca2+]cyt. Addition of the adenylate cyclase
inhibitor 2 ,5 -dideoxyadenosine before forskolin significantly
inhibited the forskolin-induced [Ca2+]cyt
elevation. Taken together, these data suggest that a potential communication point for cross-talk between signal transduction pathways
using cyclic nucleotides in plants is at the level of Ca2+
signaling.
 |
INTRODUCTION |
Environmental and hormonal signals regulate various physiological
processes in plants via signal transduction pathways. Essential components of signal transduction pathways include second messengers. Vital roles for the second messengers Ca2+, cAMP,
cGMP, IP3, and 1,2-diacylglycerol were first
discovered in animal systems (Berridge and Irvine, 1984 ; Nishizuka,
1984 ). The last decade has been marked by substantial progress in
elucidating the mechanisms of intracellular signaling in plants (Gilroy
and Trewavas, 1994 ). Attempts to draw comparisons with mammalian
systems have been successful in showing that
Ca2+-calmodulin, cGMP (Neuhaus et al., 1993 ), and
phosphoinositide signal mechanisms (Alexandre et al., 1990 ; Allen at
al., 1995) also exist in plants, although cAMP involvement in
transduction pathways has remained controversial (Assmann, 1995 ;
Bolwell, 1995 ).
It is known that a number of chemical and physical stimuli mediate
their effects via transient increases in the concentration of
intracellular free Ca2+ (Gilroy and Trewavas,
1994 ). Ca2+ influx into the cytosol can occur
because of the opening of Ca2+ channels in plasma
membrane, with Ca2+ entering the cell down a
concentration gradient. Receptor activation, at least in mammalian
cells, can trigger the phosphoinositide cascade, which leads to the
production of IP3 and 1,2-diacylglycerol (Berridge and Irvine, 1984 ). IP3 can then provoke
the release from the internal Ca2+ stores of
plants cells by opening intracellular Ca2+
channels (Alexandre et al., 1990 ; Gilroy et al., 1990 ; Allen et al.,
1995 ). Increases in
[Ca2+]cyt produced either
by influx or release from internal Ca2+ stores
stimulate the phosphorylation of proteins within the cell (Poovaiah and
Reddy, 1990 ). An increase in
[Ca2+]cyt detected by
Ca2+ microelectrodes,
Ca2+-sensitive fluorescence probes, and extrinsic
and intrinsic aequorin (Cobbold and Rink, 1987 ; Chae et al., 1990 ;
Knight et al., 1991 ; Shacklock et al., 1992 ), followed by the
alteration of the activities of intercellular targets, enzymes, genes,
pumps, and channels, have all been demonstrated in plants (Fallon et
al., 1993 ; Neuhaus et al., 1993 ; Bowler et al., 1994a ). In some
circumstances activated plant cells can display repeated
Ca2+ spikes or oscillations (McAinsh et al.,
1995 ) and spreading Ca2+ waves (Shacklock et al.,
1992 ; Campbell et al., 1996 ). Such elevations in
[Ca2+]cyt have been shown
to be involved in several signaling pathways triggered, for example, by
light via phytochrome (Neuhaus et al., 1993 ; Bowler et al., 1994a ,
1994b ), by phytohormones (Felle, 1988 ; Gehring et al., 1990 ), and even
by mechanical signals and cold shock (Knight et al., 1991 , 1992 ; Haley
et al., 1995 ; Campbell et al., 1996 ). The multifunctional role of
Ca2+ suggests that it participates in many
signaling pathways in the plant cell. A simple but effective method for
measuring changes in
[Ca2+]cyt in whole plants
has been developed (Knight et al., 1991 ). This involves the expression
of the Ca2+-activated photoprotein aequorin in
transgenic plants (Knight et al., 1993 ; Knight and Knight, 1995 ). This
approach can be adapted for use in protoplasts that provide a
superlative system for calibration of the Ca2+
signal (Haley et al., 1995 ; Knight et al., 1996 ).
The data presented in this paper show that increases in intracellular
concentrations of the second messengers cGMP and cAMP (Tepper et al.,
1995 ) provoke increases in
[Ca2+]cyt in plant cells.
This suggests that a potential communication point for cross-talk
between signal transduction pathways using these second messengers
(Bowler et al., 1994b ) is the release of intracellular and
extracellular Ca2+ stores.
 |
MATERIALS AND METHODS |
Plant Material and Protoplast Isolation
Tobacco (Nicotiana plumbaginifolia) genetically
transformed to express apoaequorin under the control of the
constitutive 35S promoter of cauliflower mosaic virus was used in this
study (transgenic line MAQ2.4; Knight et al., 1991 ). Protoplasts were
isolated from the leaves of 8-week-old plants grown in white light (150 µmol m 2 s 1) for 15 h/d at 20°C according to standard methods by Shillito and Potrykus
(1985) , with slight modifications. The epidermal layer was stripped
from the leaves and they were incubated for 3.5 to 5.5 h with
regular shaking (30 min) in 20 mM Mes (Sigma) buffer
solution adjusted to pH 5.5 and containing 2% (w/v) cellulase Onozuka
R-10 (Serva, Heidelberg, Germany), 400 mM mannitol
(Chemapol, Bratislava, Slovakia), 100 mM Gly (Merck,
Darmstadt, Germany), and 5 mM CaCl2.
After incubation, the protoplast suspension was filtered through a
nylon filter with a 100-µm pore size and the protoplasts were washed
several times in 20 mM Hepes (Sigma), pH 7.0, 500 mM mannitol, 2 mM MgCl2,
and 0.1 mM EGTA (Sigma), followed by centrifugation at
200g for 3 min. After isolation, the protoplast
concentration was adjusted to 2 × 105 cells
mL 1 in the same solution that was used for
washing. Protoplasts were placed in this medium for all in vivo
Ca2+ measurements. Protoplast viability was
tested according to the procedure of Rudenok et al. (1973) with the
exclusion dye methylene blue (0.3 mM, Sigma).
Aequorin Reconstitution and [Ca2+]cyt
Monitoring
For in vivo aequorin reconstitution (Knight and Knight, 1995 ), the
protoplasts were incubated for 4 h at room temperature with 2 µM coelentrazine (Molecular Probes, Eugene, OR) diluted in methanol (Merck). After washing, chemiluminescence measurements were
performed with a digital chemiluminometer (model PCHL-01, Biopribor,
Moscow, Russia) equipped with a PEU-84 photomultiplier and chart
recorder. The total sample volume in the luminometer cuvettes was 0.5 mL. All additions (usually not more than 0.2 mL) were added to the
cuvette using a micropipette with a thin plastic tube. At the end of
each measurement protoplasts were discharged by mixing with an equal
volume of 100 mM CaCl2/0.1% (v/v)
Triton X-100. The peak value of the stimuli-induced
[Ca2+]cyt transient was
calculated as described by Cobbold and Rink (1987) , with some
modifications, to take into account the specific isoform used and the
experimental temperature (Knight et al., 1996 ).
Protoplast Swelling
Protoplast swelling was used as a simple indicator of plant cell
physiological response (Kim et al., 1986 ; Bossen et al., 1988 ;
Shacklock et al., 1992 ). After cAMP/cGMP addition, protoplasts (5 × 105 in 0.5 mL) were kept in the dark for
different time intervals at 22°C. Then, protoplasts were placed on a
hemocytometer and photographed. The diameters of 100 protoplasts for
each incubation time were determined and the mean volume was evaluated,
making the assumption that the cells were spherical. All measurements of the changes in protoplast volume were made in the same medium that
was used for Ca2+ measurements.
 |
RESULTS |
All in vivo
[Ca2+]cyt measurement
experiments were repeated at least three times. The traces presented
were taken from the replicates and represent luminescence over time.
The size of the luminescence peak and the luminescence kinetics are
governed not only by the rate and concentration of
[Ca2+]cyt, but also by
the absolute amount of aequorin present in the cells. Higher or lower
amounts of aequorin will give larger or smaller peaks in response to
the same changes in Ca2+. If the consumption of
aequorin becomes significant, then a smaller-than-expected peak is
obtained. All of these factors are taken into account when the peak
[Ca2+]cyt values are
calibrated. Thus, these calibrated
[Ca2+]cyt values may be
compared between treatments in the same experiment. For the reasons
outlined above, however, no qualitative comparisons can be made between
experiments or treatments based on magnitude and kinetics of
luminescence alone. Addition of 2 mM extracellular CaCl2 to the protoplasts (Fig.
1, A and B) provoked increases of
[Ca2+]cyt of about 0.2 to
0.3 µM, indicating successful in vivo reconstitution of
aequorin. Regardless of whether this extracellular
Ca2+ was added before or after second messengers,
its addition produced maximum
[Ca2+]cyt values that
were quite similar (data not shown).

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| Figure 1.
Influence of db-cGMP (A) and db-cAMP (B) on
Ca2+-dependent chemiluminescence of aequorin in protoplasts
isolated from transgenic tobacco leaves (traces from chart recorder).
Applications of stimuli are shown by arrows. Aliquots (200 µL) of
cyclic mononucleotides diluted in buffer to a final concentration of 10 µM, were added to the suspension (0.5 mL) of protoplasts
(2 × 105 cells mL 1) in 0.5 M mannitol, 20 mM Hepes, pH 7.0, 2 mM MgCl2, and 0.1 mM EGTA. Before
the addition of cyclic mononucleotides, CaCl2 solution (200 µL) was added to give a final CaCl2 concentration of 1 mM (shown by arrows). C, Peak
[Ca2+]cyt values after the addition of cyclic
mononucleotides and Ca2+ to protoplasts were calculated
after chemiluminescence discharge under the action of 0.1% Triton
X-100/100 mM CaCl2, as described previously
(Cobbold and Rink, 1987 ; Knight and Knight, 1995 ). Experiments were
performed seven times; the error bars on histograms indicate
SD.
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|
The effects of db-cGMP and db-cAMP on
[Ca2+]cyt levels of
tobacco protoplasts were tested. As can be seen in Figure 1, A and B,
the addition of either of these second messengers at 10 µM provoked large transient increases in
[Ca2+]cyt. db-cGMP caused
a transient [Ca2+]cyt
elevation of around 0.8 µM, lasting for approximately
40 s (Fig. 1, A and C). db-cAMP caused a transient
[Ca2+]cyt elevation of
around 0.7 µM, lasting for approximately 100 s (Fig.
1C). Figure 2, C and D, demonstrates the
effect of 8-Br-cGMP and 8-Br-cAMP. These experiments were performed on
protoplasts suspended in Ca2+-deficient medium to
compare the results obtained in Figure 1 (in medium containing
Ca2+) and hence gauge the involvement of
external/internal Ca2+ stores in the
[Ca2+]cyt responses to
cAMP/cGMP. Both types of cyclic-nucleotide derivatives caused similar
transient [Ca2+]cyt
elevations, unequivocally indicating that the mononucleotide parts of
the molecules were responsible. The transients also lasted about 40 and
100 s, respectively. Both db-cGMP and db-cAMP were able to produce
a [Ca2+]cyt elevation in
Ca2+-free medium (Fig. 2, A and B), strongly
suggesting Ca2+ release from internal stores of
ion. There was substantial variability in the calibrate
cyclic-nucleotide-mediated
[Ca2+]cyt peak values
between experiments performed under the same conditions (compare Figs.
2 and 3). Also, the apparent relative potency of the cAMP and cGMP
varied (compare Figs. 2 and 3). This is most likely because of
physiological differences between protoplasts from different
preparations leading to differences in signaling. Practically, this
means that the relative quantitative contributions of
intracellular/extracellular stores cannot be gauged. Qualitatively, it
is clear from our results that both types of Ca2+
stores are involved, although the 8-Br- derivatives were less potent
than the db- derivatives at concentrations that mediated a
[Ca2+]cyt increase (Fig.
2). This difference might be attributable to nuances in uptake
efficiencies of the two derivative forms of cAMP/cGMP.

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| Figure 2.
Influence of db-cGMP (A), db-cAMP (B), 8-Br-cGMP
(C), and 8-Br-cAMP (D) on Ca2+-dependent chemiluminescence
of aequorin in protoplasts isolated from transgenic tobacco leaves and
suspended in Ca2+-deficient medium (traces from chart
recorder). The conditions of the experiments were the same as in Figure
1. E, Peak [Ca2+]cyt values after the
addition of cyclic mononucleotides and Ca2+ to protoplasts
were calculated after chemiluminescence discharge under the action of
0.1% Triton X-100/100 mM CaCl2 as described previously (Cobbold and Rink, 1987 ; Knight and Knight, 1995 ). Experiments were performed seven times; the error bars on histograms indicate SD.
|
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| Figure 3.
Dose dependence of
[Ca2+]cyt elevation in protoplasts to
db-cGMP ( ) and db-cAMP ( ) concentration without any external
Ca2+.
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Figure 3 shows a dose-response curve for
cyclic-nucleotide concentration plotted against peak
[Ca2+]cyt values as a
result of intracellular Ca2+ release (this
experiment was performed in the absence of external Ca2+). The concentration dependence reached a
plateau somewhere between 1 and 10 µM for both cyclic
mononucleotides (Fig. 3). The ability of cyclic nucleotides to cause
[Ca2+]cyt elevations was
further demonstrated by the use of membrane-permeable modulators of
anabolic and catabolic pathways of cyclic-mononucleotide metabolism.
[Ca2+]cyt elevations
were observed with the addition of the
cyclic-mononucleotide phosphodiesterase inhibitor IBMX (Fig.
4A), the cGMP phosphodiesterase inhibitor
zaprinast (Fig. 4B), and the adenylate cyclase activator forskolin
(Fig. 4C). When the adenylate cyclase inhibitor DDOA was added before
forskolin, the forskolin-mediated
[Ca2+]cyt increase was
inhibited (Fig. 4D). It seems that Ca2+-sensitive
chemiluminescence of cytosolic aequorin can be induced by the changes
in the endogenous cyclic-mononucleotide concentrations, stimulating
their formation or inhibiting their hydrolysis.

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| Figure 4.
Effect of IBMX (A), zaprinast (B), forskolin (C),
and DDOA plus forskolin (D) on [Ca2+]cyt in
tobacco protoplasts as measured by aequorin chemiluminescence. The
compounds were added to the suspension of tobacco protoplasts at the
indicated concentrations. The composition of the buffer with no
Ca2+ was as described for Figure 1. E, The histograms show
the peak [Ca2+]cyt values obtained for each
treatment. The error bars on the histograms indicate SD.
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Figure 5 shows the correlation between
the concentration of forskolin added and the
[Ca2+]cyt responses
obtained. The most pronounced effect on
[Ca2+]cyt was observed at
20 µM, a concentration that is consistent with the
concentration range of optimal activity of forskolin in animal cells
(Siamon et al., 1981 ). Higher concentrations of forskolin seem to have
inhibitory effects (Fig. 5), most likely because of cell toxicity at
these concentrations.

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| Figure 5.
Dose dependence of
[Ca2+]cyt elevation in tobacco protoplasts to
forskolin concentration under the same conditions as described for
Figure 1.
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As described previously (Haley et al., 1995 ), additions to protoplasts
in solution may result in the so-called "touch" effect, a
consequence of mechanical induction of Ca2+
release from intracellular Ca2+ stores. To
minimize the touch effect, Ca2+ solution was
added to protoplast suspensions very carefully. This was verified by
testing the effect of adding membrane-impermeable cAMP and cGMP to
protoplasts as well as by the addition of buffer alone, including
ethanol (as a pharmaceutical diluent), as controls (Fig.
6). The addition of cAMP, cGMP, or buffer
alone immediately produced very rapid and small transients of cytosolic
free Ca2+ attributable to the touch response. As
can be seen in Figures 1 and 2, a rapid transient is also seen
immediately upon addition of db-cGMP or db-cAMP, which can be
attributed to the same phenomenon. This is clearly separate in time and
magnitude from the very large and prolonged responses seen with these
membrane-permeable second messengers.

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| Figure 6.
Effects of buffer alone and water-soluble cAMP and
cGMP on [Ca2+]cyt levels in tobacco
protoplasts. Media for cAMP, cGMP, and buffer plus ethanol (200-µL
solutions) were the same as for Figure 1. Peak
[Ca2+]cyt values after the addition of cyclic
mononucleotides and Ca2+ to protoplasts were calculated
after chemiluminescence discharge under the action of 0.1% Triton
X-100/100 mM CaCl2 as described previously
(Cobbold and Rink, 1987 ; Knight and Knight, 1995 ).
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Figure 7 shows the effect of the
Ca2+-channel blocker verapamil on
cyclic-nucleotide-mediated
[Ca2+]cyt increases.
Verapamil inhibited the effects of db-cAMP and db-cGMP, producing lower
elevations of [Ca2+]cyt.
The inhibiting action of verapamil on db-cAMP/db-GMP-induced [Ca2+]cyt elevation was
more pronounced for cGMP than for cAMP (Fig. 7C).

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| Figure 7.
Inhibition of db-cGMP-induced (A) and
db-cAMP-induced (B) [Ca2+]cyt elevation by
verapamil in Ca2+-deficient medium. C, Percentage of
inhibition by verapamil. Experiments were performed three times; the
error bars on histograms indicate SD.
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To understand the signaling role of Ca2+ in
plants in relation to the involvement of cyclic nucleotides as the
messengers, the physiological action of protoplast swelling was
investigated. Figure 8 shows that the
time course of protoplast swelling was caused by db-cAMP and db-cGMP.
According to our results, a 15-min incubation was sufficient for the
curves to reach a plateau corresponding to about a 10% and 15%
increase in volume for db-cGMP and db-cAMP, respectively.

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| Figure 8.
Time course of tobacco protoplast swelling after
treatment with db-cGMP and db-cAMP in complete darkness at 22°C,
expressed as percent volume change ( V,%). Protoplasts were
suspended in the media described for Figure 1. Cyclic mononucleotides
were added at a concentration of 10 µM and incubation
times varied as shown. The volume changes were determined as described
in ``Materials and Methods''. The percent volume change is relative
to the control without cyclic mononucleotides. Each point represents
the mean of at least three separate experiments; the error bars
indicate SE.
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|
 |
DISCUSSION |
The data presented in this paper show that second messengers such
as cGMP and cAMP can provoke
[Ca2+]cyt elevations in
tobacco protoplasts. In the case of cAMP and cGMP, the targets of
action are likely to be intracellular, because even though
membrane-permeable analogs at concentrations as low as 0.1 µM provoked a large
[Ca2+]cyt response (Fig.
1, A and B), membrane-impermeable cAMP and cGMP did not produce any
significant effect (Fig. 6). An intracellular site of action is also
supported by the fact that a significant [Ca2+]cyt response was
induced by db-cGMP and db-cAMP in the absence of external
Ca2+. Protoplasts in EGTA (zero external
Ca2+) still showed
[Ca2+]cyt responses to
these second messengers, implicating the release of
Ca2+ from internal stores as a mechanism for this
response. Although variability was seen between protoplast
preparations, cyclic-nucleotide-mediated [Ca2+]cyt increases were
generally higher in the presence of external Ca2+. This suggests that cyclic mononucleotides
may also trigger changes in the Ca2+ permeability
of the plasma membrane and thus cause a Ca2+
influx. The results obtained with verapamil (Fig. 7) indicate that a
significant proportion of the
[Ca2+]cyt responses
occurs via the activation of verapamil-sensitive Ca2+ channels.
Similar [Ca2+]cyt
elevations were also mediated by the addition of 8-Br-cAMP and
8-Br-cGMP, which also penetrate membranes very easily (Fig. 2, C and
D). The [Ca2+]cyt
responses stimulated by these two types of derivative of membrane-permeable cyclic nucleotides were relatively large, much greater in magnitude, and much more prolonged than the touch
[Ca2+]cyt response caused
by the mechanical stimulation resulting from the addition of solutions
to the protoplasts (Fig. 6).
[Ca2+]cyt elevation
in protoplast cytoplasm was also induced by manipulating endogenous
cyclic-mononucleotide levels. The addition of various modulators
controlling cyclic-nucleotide metabolism to protoplasts produced
significant changes in
[Ca2+]cyt. As can be seen
in Figures 4 and 5, compounds that should increase endogenous
cyclic-nucleotide concentration (forskolin, IBMX, and zaprinast)
produced increases in
[Ca2+]cyt. The
interesting result that is consistent with the above explanation was
obtained when DDOA was used before forskolin. Forskolin stimulates
adenylate cyclase within the cell and, consequently, increases the
concentration of endogenous cAMP. It seems likely that DDOA
competitively inhibits the adenylate cyclase and prevents its
stimulation by forskolin (Fig. 4, C and D).
In addition to [Ca2+]cyt
elevation induced by db-cAMP and db-cGMP, the physiological response of
protoplast swelling was observed at the same concentrations of cyclic
mononucleotides (Fig. 8). These data are consistent with those obtained
by other authors (Kim et al., 1986 ; Bossen et al., 1988 ; Gilroy and
Trewavas, 1994 ). It has also been shown that protoplast swelling is
under the control of red light absorbed by phytochrome (Bossen et
al., 1988 ; Chung et al., 1988 ; Shacklock et al., 1992 ). It has been
shown that the release of caged Ca2+ can cause
protoplast swelling in the absence of light (Shacklock et al., 1992 ).
Therefore, it is possible that cyclic-nucleotide-induced increases in
[Ca2+]cyt mediate
protoplast swelling. Furthermore, it is possible that the phenomenon
described in this paper is relevant to the photophysiology of
phytochrome action, i.e. signal transmission from the photoreceptor to
target elements within the cell (Barnes et al., 1997 ), where cyclic
mononucleotides have been shown to be downstream signaling molecules
(Bowler at al., 1994b).
A key area that needs to be understood concerns the mechanism by which
these second messengers bring about Ca2+ release
from intracellular Ca2+ stores into cytoplasm. It
could be indirect via effects on protein kinases (Stone and Walker,
1995 ), or possibly by direct action on ion channels (Ward et al.,
1995 ). The first possibility is very important because the activities
of many plant cell proteins are modulated by phosphorylation (Ranjeva
and Boudet, 1987 ). The activities of cGMP- and cAMP-dependent protein
kinases have been detected in animals (Krebs, 1985 ). There is also some
evidence for cyclic-mononucleotide-regulated kinases in plant cells
(Komatsu and Hirano, 1993 ). However, unlike the situation in mammalian cells, the involvement of cAMP still needs to be unequivocally elucidated in plants (Bolwell, 1995 ). Generally, the problem is that
the low levels of cAMP present in plant cells means that cAMP-dependent
processes that are detected experimentally are viewed with suspicion.
However, analogs and modulators of cAMP metabolism have been shown to
have physiological effects in plant cells (Assmann, 1995 ). The data
presented here suggest the possibility of a role for cAMP in the
control of Ca2+ release from intracellular stores
in plant cells. The second potential targets for cyclic
mononucleotides, at least in animals, are ion channels, which can be
directly controlled by cyclic mononucleotides, e.g. in visual and
olfactory cells in animals (Fesenko et al., 1985 ; Delgado et al.,
1991 ). Cyclic mononucleotides in these cases have been shown to be
bound directly to specific binding sites located at the components of
so-called cGMP- and cAMP-dependent ion channels.
Environmental, chemical, and hormonal stimuli that are capable of
inducing changes in
[Ca2+]cyt are
characterized by individual Ca2+ signatures with
different amplitudes, kinetics, and spatial distribution, which, it has
been suggested, allow cells to distinguish between stimuli (Gilroy and
Trewavas, 1994 ; Haley et al., 1995 ; Campbell et al., 1996 ). Thus,
stimulus-induced changes in
[Ca2+]cyt may be
transient, sustained, or oscillatory (Knight et al., 1991 ; McAinsh et
al., 1995 ; Campbell et al., 1996 ). Typically, these
[Ca2+]cyt responses can
last from a few seconds to several hours. It is generally accepted that
changes in [Ca2+]cyt are
closely associated with transduction of the biological action of auxin,
ABA, cytokinins, gibberellic acid, fungal elicitors, and light (Gilroy
and Trevawas, 1994; Bush, 1995 ). The involvement of second messengers
other than Ca2+ in these pathways has not been
demonstrated, although cGMP involvement in phytochrome-mediated
chs gene expression has been shown (Bowler et al., 1994a ,
1994b ). cGMP was shown to substitute for the action of red light in the
phytochrome-dependent regulatory control of anthocyanin synthesis
(Neuhaus et al., 1993 ; Bowler et al., 1994a ). It is clearly possible
that cyclic nucleotides (Bolwell, 1995 ) and metabolites from
phosphoinositide cycles are involved in many other plant signal
transduction pathways (Alexandre et al., 1991; Allen et al., 1995 ). The
major challenge for the future will be to determine whether
cyclic-nucleotide-mediated
[Ca2+]cyt increases are
actually used in bona fide signal transduction pathways in plants.
 |
FOOTNOTES |
1
M.R.K. is a Royal Society University Research
Fellow.
*
Corresponding author; e-mail marc.knight{at}plants.ox.ac.uk; fax
44-1865-275023.
Received January 5, 1998;
accepted April 17, 1998.
 |
ABBREVIATIONS |
Abbreviations:
8-Br-cAMP, 8-brom-cyclic AMP.
8-Br-cGMP, 8-brom-cyclic GMP.
[Ca2+]cyt, cytosolic
Ca2+ concentration.
db-cAMP, 2 -O-dibutyryl
AMP.
db-cGMP, 2 -O-dibutyryl GMP.
DDOA, 2 ,5 -dideoxyadenosine.
IBMX, 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine.
IP3, inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate.
 |
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS |
We thank Prof. A.A. Milutin (Sakcharov's College, Minsk), who
donated coelentrazine, and Dr. V.B. Gavrilov (Institute of
Photobiology, Academy of Sciences of Belarus, Minsk) for the use of the
chemiluminometer.
 |
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