Possible Involvement of Calmodulin and the Cytoskeleton in Electrofusion of Plant Protoplasts

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Abstract
Calmodulin antagonists, trifluoperazine, chlorpromazine, calmidazolium, N-(6-aminohexyl)-5-chloro-1-naphthalenesulfonamide (W-7), strongly inhibited the electrofusion of barley (Hordeum vulgar L. cv Moor) protoplasts with a marked increase of broken fusion products, after 60 minutes of incubation. W-5, a dechlorinated analog of W-7, was found less effective for the inhibition than W-7. Ethyleneglycol-bis(.beta.-aminoethylether)-N,N''-tetraacetic acid a Ca2+ chelator, La3+, a surface Ca2+ antagonist, and verapamil, a Ca2+ channel blocker, also inhibited electrofusion. Dielectrophoresis was inhibited by La3+. A microtubule inhibitor, vinblastine, inhibited electrofusion strongly while colchicine, slightly. A microfilament inhibitor, cytochalasin B, promoted fused cells to become spherical while phalloidin did not affect electrofusion.