Abstract

The patch-clamp technique was used to study effect of the Ca2+ on K+ channels in the plasma membrane of protoplasts isolated from tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L., cv. Bright Yellow) cultured cells in suspension. The outward rectifying whole-cell K+ currents were not affected by in-tracellular Ca2+, but they were reduced with increasing extracellular Ca2+. Neither extracellular nor intracellular Ca2+ affected the permeability ratios (pK+/PNa+) of the plasma membrane. These results suggest that the inhibition of outward-rectifying K+ channels by extracellular Ca2+may partially contribute towards the mitigation of detrimental effects of salinity on growth by extracellular Ca2+.

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