title: Osmolyte cooperation affects turgor dynamics in plants.
abstract: Scientists have identified turgor-based actuation as a fundamental mechanism in plant movements. Plant cell turgor is generated by water influx due to the osmolyte concentration gradient through the cell wall and the plasma membrane behaving as an osmotic barrier. Previous studies have focused on turgor modulation with respect to potassium chloride (KCl) concentration changes, although KCl is not efficiently retained in the cell, and many other compounds, including L-glutamine (L-Gln) and D-glucose (D-Glc), are present in the cytosol. In fact, the contributions of other osmolytes to turgor dynamics remain to be elucidated. Here, we show the association of osmolytes and their consequent cooperative effects on the time-dependent turgor profile generated in a model cytosol consisting of KCl, D-Glc and L-Gln at experimentally measured plant motor/generic cell concentrations and at modified concentrations. We demonstrate the influence and association of the osmolytes using osmometry and NMR measurements. We also show, using a plant cell-inspired device we previously developed, that osmolyte complexes, rather than single osmolytes, permit to obtain higher turgor required by plant movements. We provide quantitative cues for deeper investigations of osmolyte transport for plant movement, and reveal the possibility of developing osmotic actuators exploiting a dynamically varying concentration of osmolytes.
authors.affiliation: Center for Micro-BioRobotics, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Viale Rinaldo Piaggio 34, 56025 Pontedera, Italy.|The BioRobotics Institute, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Viale Rinaldo Piaggio 34, 56025 Pontedera, Italy.
authors.forename: Alfredo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Argiolas
authors.affiliation: Center for Micro-BioRobotics, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Viale Rinaldo Piaggio 34, 56025 Pontedera, Italy.
authors.forename: Gian Luigi
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: Puleo
authors.affiliation: Center for Micro-BioRobotics, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Viale Rinaldo Piaggio 34, 56025 Pontedera, Italy.
authors.forename: Edoardo
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sinibaldi
authors.affiliation: Center for Micro-BioRobotics, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Viale Rinaldo Piaggio 34, 56025 Pontedera, Italy.
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Mazzolai
mesh_terms: D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D002473:Cell Wall / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D003600:Cytosol / Q000378:metabolism; D005947:Glucose / Q000378:metabolism; D005973:Glutamine / Q000378:metabolism; D009994:Osmolar Concentration; D009995:Osmosis / Q000502:physiology*; D009997:Osmotic Pressure / Q000502:physiology; D018521:Plant Physiological Phenomena; D010944:Plants / Q000378:metabolism*; D011189:Potassium Chloride / Q000378:metabolism; D014867:Water / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D014867:Water; D005973:Glutamine; D011189:Potassium Chloride; D005947:Glucose