Ionophorous functions of phosphatidic acid in the plant cell

Effects of phosphatidic acid (PA), a product of phospholipase D activity, on Ca2+ and H+ transport were investigated in membrane vesicles obtained from roots and coleoptiles of maize (Zea mays L.). Calcium flows were measured with fluorescent probes indo-1 and chlorotetracycline loaded into the vesicles and added to the incubation medium, respectively. Phosphatidic acid (50–500 μM) was found to induce downhill flow of Ca2+ along the concentration gradient into the plasma membrane vesicles and endomembrane vesicles (tonoplast and endoplasmic reticulum). Protonophorous functions of PA were probed with acridine orange. First, the ionic H+ gradient was created on the tonoplast vesicles by means of H+-ATPase activation with Mg-ATP addition. Then, the vesicles were treated with 25–100 μM PA, which induced the release of protons from tonoplast vesicles and dissipation of the proton gradient. Thus, PA could function as an ionophore and was able to transfer Ca2+ and H+ across plant cell membranes along concentration gradients of these ions. The role of PA in mechanisms of intracellular signaling in plants is discussed.