Use of double barrel micropipettes to voltage-clamp plant and fungal cells

Abstract

Electrophysiological analyses of ion transport in walled cells are essential to our understanding of the life of the cell. Ion transport plays crucial roles in regulating the intracellular milieu of the cell, in signal transduction, osmotic regulation and cellular growth. A detailed characterization of the electrical properties of the cells relies upon multiple techniques, among them, voltage clamping is very useful. Voltage clamping with double barrel micropipettes is especially important given the "physiology problem" associated with patch clamp measurements on plasmolyzed protoplasts. Technical constraints and accessibility of the cell make voltage clamping a challenging endeavor, but double barrel micropipettes offer increased technical ease, simplifying the challenges faced by the researcher when working with intact cells. However, it should be clear from the examples presented in this chapter that double barrel micropipettes are not an absolute solution, but instead another step in our efforts to discover the roles of ion transport in cellular functions.