Summary
Most of the studies devoted to the mechanism by which certain antibiotics increase the ion permeability ofbiological membranes have been carried out on artificialmodel systems. Undoubtedly one of the major reasons for this was that some of the most relevant biological membrane systems are of submicroscopic dimensions and thus inaccessible to the common electrochemical measuring techniques. This holds for the inner membrane systems of chloroplasts, mitochondria, and retinal rods.
Since it is not trivial that a mechanism of action found for a model membrane works as well in a biological one with a much higher structural complexity, it seemed worth-while to study the mechanism of action of ionophorous antibiotics on the above-mentioned biological membranes.
In this paper, a nonelectrochemical method for measuring both the voltage and the current across the inner chloroplast membrane (or thylakoid membrane) is established in extension of earlier work. This method is used to characterize the mode of action of valinomycin on the thylakoid membrane.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Chappel, I. B., Crofts, A. R. 1966. Ion transport and reversible volume changes of isolated mitochondria.In: The Regulation of Metabolic Processes in Mitochondrion, p. 293. Elsevier Publishing Company, Amsterdam.
Ciani, S. 1965. A rate theory analysis of steady diffusion in a fixed charge membrane.Biophysik 2:368.
Döring, G., Stiehl, H. H., Witt, H. T. 1967. A second chlorophyll reaction in the electron chain of photosynthesis—Registration by the repetitive excitation technique.z. Naturf. 22b:639.
Eisenman, G., Ciani, S. M., Szabo, G. 1968. Some theoretically expected and experimentally observed properties of lipid bilayer membranes containing neutral molecular carriers of ions.Fed. Proc. 27:1289.
Emrich, H. M., Junge, W., Witt, H. T. 1969. An artificial indicator for electric phenomena in biological membranes and interfaces.Naturwissenschaften 56:514.
Eyring, H. 1935. The activated complex in chemical reactions.J. Chem. Phys. 3:107.
Junge, W. 1970. The critical electric potential difference for photophosphorylation.Europ. J. Biochem. 14:582.
—, Emrich, H. M., Witt, H. T. 1970. The indication of a light induced electrical field by pigments incorporated in chloroplast membranes.In: Proc. Coral Gables Conf. on the Physical Princ. of Biological Membranes (Dec. 1968), p. 383. Gordon and Breach Science Publishers, New York.
—, Rumberg, B., Schröder, H. 1970. The necessity of an electric potential difference and its use for photophosphorylation in short flash groups.Europ. J. Biochem. 14:575.
—, Witt, H. T. 1968. On the ion transport system of photosynthesis—Investigation on a molecular level.Z. Naturf. 23b:244.
Kreutz, W. 1970. X-Ray structure research on the photosynthesis membrane.In: Advances in Botanical Research, Vol. III. R. D. Proston, editor. p. 53, Academic Press, New York.
Lev, A. A., Bujinsky, E. P. 1967. Cation specificity of bimolecular phospholipid membranes containing the valinomycin.Tsitologiya (USSR) 9:102.
Liberman, Ye. A., Topaly, V. P. 1968. Transfer of ions across bimolecular membranes and classification of uncouplers of oxidative phosphorylation.Biophysics (USSR) Engl. Transl. 13:1195.
Markin, V. S., Pastushenko, V. F., Krishtalik, L. I., Liberman, E. A., Topaly, V. P. (1969). Membrane potential and short circuit current in artificial phospholipid membranes in the presence of agents uncoupling oxidative phosphorylation.Biofizika 14:462.
Moore, C., Pressman, B. C. 1964. Mechanism of action of avinomycin on mitochondria.Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 15:562.
Mueller, P., Rudin, D. O. 1967. Development of K+−Na+ discrimination in experimental bimolecular lipid membranes by macrocyclic antibiotics.Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 26:398.
Okki, S. 1969. The electrical capacitance of phospholipid membranes.Biophys. J. 9:1195.
Pressman, B. C. 1968. Ionophorous antibiotics as models for biological transport.Fed. Proc. 27:1283.
—, Harris, E. J., Jagger, W. S., Johnson, I. H. 1967. Antibiotic-mediated transport of alkali ions across lipid barriers.Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. 58:1949.
Rüppel, H., Witt, H. T. 1969. Measurements of fast reactions by single and repetitive excitations with pulses of electromagnetic radiation.In: Fast Reactions, Methods in Enzymology, Vol. XI. p. 317. Academic Press, New York.
Schliephake, W., Junge, W., Witt, H. T. 1968. Correlation between field formation, proton translocation, and the light reactions in photosynthesis.Z. Naturf. 23b:1571.
Shemyakin, M. M., Ovchinnikov, Yu. A., Ivanov, V. T., Antonov, V. K., Vinogradova, E. I., Shkrob, A. M., Malenkov, G. G., Evstratov, A. V., Laine, I. A., Melnik, E. I., Ryabova, I. D. 1969. Cyclodepsipeptides as chemical tools for studying ionic transport through membranes.J. Membrane Biol. 1:402.
Tien, H. T., Diana, A. L. 1968. Bimolecular lipid membranes: A review and a summary of some recent studies.Chem. Phys. Lipids 2:55.
Witt, H. T., Rumberg, B., Junge, W. 1968. Electron transfer, field changes, proton translocation and phosphorylation in photosynthesis. Coupling in the thylakoid membrane.In: 19. Mosbach-Colloquium (April 1968). p. 262. Springer Verlag, Berlin.
Wolff, C., Buchwald, H.-E., Rüppel, H., Witt, K., Witt, H. T. 1969. Rise time of the light induced electrical field across the function membrane of photosynthesis. Registration by repetitive laser giant pulse photometry.Z. Naturf. 24b:1038.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Junge, W., Schmid, R. The mechanism of action of valinomycin on the thylakoid membrane. J. Membrain Biol. 4, 179–192 (1971). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02431970
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02431970