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Plant and Cell Physiology Advance Access originally published online on January 19, 2005
Plant and Cell Physiology 2005 46(1):201-212; doi:10.1093/pcp/pci014
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© 2005 Oxford University Press

Inhibition of Contractile Vacuole Function by Brefeldin A

Burkhard Becker1 and Angela Hickisch

Botanisches Institut, Universität zu Köln, Gyrhofstr. 15, D-50931 Köln, Germany

Brefeldin A (BFA) causes a block in the secretory system of eukaryotic cells. In the scaly green flagellate Scherffelia dubia, BFA also interfered with the function of the contractile vacuoles (CVs). The CV is an osmoregulatory organelle which periodically expels fluid from the cell in many freshwater protists. Fusion of the CV membrane with the plasma membrane is apparently blocked by BFA in S. dubia. The two CVs of S. dubia swell and finally form large central vacuoles (LCVs). BFA-induced formation of LCVs depends on V-ATPase activity, and can be reversed by hypertonic media, suggesting that water accumulation in the LCVs is driven by osmosis. We suggest that the BFA-induced formation of LCVs represents a prolonged diastole phase. A normal diastole phase takes about 20 s and is difficult to investigate. Therefore, BFA-induced formation of LCVs in S. dubia represents a unique model system to investigate the diastole phase of the CV cycle.

1 Corresponding author: E-mail, b.becker{at}uni-koeln.de; Fax, +49 221-4705181.

(Received March 29, 2004; Accepted November 4, 2004)


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