title: Electrophysiology of pumpkin seeds: Memristors in vivo.
abstract: Leon Chua, the discoverer of a memristor, theoretically predicted that voltage gated ion channels can be memristors. We recently found memristors in different plants such as the Venus flytrap, Mimosa pudica, Aloe vera, apple fruits, and in potato tubers. There are no publications in literature about the existence of memristors in seeds. The goal of this work was to discover if pumpkin seeds might have memristors. We selected Cucurbita pepo L., cv. Cinderella, Cucurbita maxima L. cv Warty Goblin, and Cucurbita maxima L., cv. Jarrahdale seeds for this analysis. In these seeds, we found the presence of resistors with memory. The analysis was based on cyclic voltammetry where a memristor should manifest itself as a nonlinear two-terminal electrical element, which exhibits a pinched hysteresis loop on a current-voltage plane for any bipolar cyclic voltage input signal. Dry dormant pumpkin seeds have very high electrical resistance without memristive properties. The electrostimulation by bipolar sinusoidal or triangular periodic waves induces electrical responses in imbibed pumpkin seeds with fingerprints of memristors. Tetraethylammonium chloride, an inhibitor of voltage gated K(+) channels, transforms a memristor to a resistor in pumpkin seeds. NPPB (5-Nitro-2-(3-phenylpropylamino)benzoic acid) inhibits the memristive properties of imbibed pumpkin seeds. The discovery of memristors in pumpkin seeds creates a new direction in the understanding of electrophysiological phenomena in seeds.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Chemistry , Oakwood University , Huntsville , AL , USA.
authors.forename: Alexander G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Volkov
authors.affiliation: a Department of Chemistry , Oakwood University , Huntsville , AL , USA.
authors.forename: Eunice K
authors.initials: EK
authors.lastname: Nyasani
authors.affiliation: a Department of Chemistry , Oakwood University , Huntsville , AL , USA.
authors.forename: Clayton
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tuckett
authors.affiliation: a Department of Chemistry , Oakwood University , Huntsville , AL , USA.
authors.forename: Esther A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Greeman
authors.affiliation: b Department of Neurology , University of Texas, Southwestern Medical Center , Dallas , TX , USA.
authors.forename: Vladislav S
authors.initials: VS
authors.lastname: Markin
mesh_terms: D028464:Cucurbita / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D004560:Electricity; D055664:Electrochemical Techniques; D055724:Electrophysiological Phenomena / Q000187:drug effects; D007473:Ion Channels / Q000378:metabolism; D009579:Nitrobenzoates / Q000494:pharmacology; D057445:Plant Dormancy / Q000187:drug effects; D012639:Seeds / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D007473:Ion Channels; D009579:Nitrobenzoates; C058176:5-nitro-2-(3-phenylpropylamino)benzoic acid
keywords: Cucurbita maxima L; Cucurbita pepo L; cucurbita maxima L; cv cinderella; cv warty goblin; cv. jarrahdale; memristor; pumpkin seed