title: Changes in calcium signalling, gravitropism, and statocyte ultrastructure in pea roots induced by calcium channel blockers.
abstract: The effect of Ca2+ channel blockers (D600 and nicardipine) were investigated in our experiments on 5-day seedlings of pea. Nicardipine had more inhibiting effect on root elongation than D600. The Ca2+ channel blockers (CCB) depressed gravitropic response in roots. In root statocytes, the destruction of the polar arrangement of cell organelles and other changes were induced by 10(-5) M D600 or nicardipine treatment for 12 h. At ultrastructural level, there were observed a lack of polarity, pronounced vacuolization, and changes in dictyosome structure in treated statocytes. Cytochemical study indicated that Ca2+ ions were concentrated in the intracellular organelles and cell walls in statocytes treated with CCB similar to untreated control. The data suggest that the effects of the CCB that demonstrated the correlation between the loss of polarity in statocytes and altered root gravitropism may be functionally related to systems that regulate Ca2+ homeostasis, particularly Ca2+ channels.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Botany, Kyiv, Ukraine. nbelyav@mail.i.com.ua
authors.forename: N A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Belyavskaya
mesh_terms: D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism*; D002121:Calcium Channel Blockers / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000252:Calcium-Transporting ATPases / Q000378:metabolism; D016764:Cell Polarity; D022162:Cytoplasmic Vesicles / Q000502:physiology; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D005711:Gallopamil / Q000494:pharmacology; D018522:Gravitropism / Q000187:drug effects*; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D009529:Nicardipine / Q000494:pharmacology; D018532:Pisum sativum / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000648:ultrastructure; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000648:ultrastructure; D018087:Plastids / Q000648:ultrastructure; D014617:Vacuoles / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D002121:Calcium Channel Blockers; D005711:Gallopamil; D009529:Nicardipine; D000252:Calcium-Transporting ATPases; D002118:Calcium