Calcium-dependent anion channel in the water mold, Blastocladiella emersonii.

Injection of depolarizing current into vegetative cells of the water mold Blastocladiella emersonii elicits a regenerative response that has the electrical characteristics of an action potential. Once they have been taken past a threshold of about -40 mV, cells abruptly depolarize to +20 mV or above; after an interval ranging from several hundred milliseconds to a few seconds, the cells spontaneously return to their resting potential near -100 mV. When the action potential was analyzed with voltage-clamp recording, it proved to be biphasic. The initial phase reflects an influx of calcium ions through voltage-sensitive channels that also carry Sr2+ ions. The delayed, and more extended, phase of inward current results from the efflux of chloride and other anions. The anion channels are broadly selective, passing chloride, nitrate, phosphate, acetate, succinate and even PIPES. The anion channels open in response to the entry of calcium ions, but do not recognize Sr2+. Calcium channels, anion channels and calcium-specific receptors that link the two channels appear to form an ensemble whose physiological function is not known. Action potentials rarely occur spontaneously but can be elicited by osmotic downshock, suggesting that the ion channels may be involved in the regulation of turgor.