ABSTRACT Response of the hydrodynamic root system was studied in maize Zea mays L. seedlings after the treatment with hydrostatic pressure created by compressed air in a pressure bomb and gradient pressure created by centrifugal force, by detecting diffusional water transfer with the use of pulsed NMR. In order to establish the contribution of water transfer through aquaporins, the transmembrane water transport was detected in roots treated with aquaporin blocker. Changes in diffusional water transfer after the pressure impact were shown to depend on its intensity and the number of cycles of pressure treatment, and varied for different diffusion times. It is proposed that maize root response to the pressure impact lies in the unequal changes in water permeability of the plasmalemma and tonoplast resulting from the changes in aquaporin activity and perhaps in the escalation of water transfer along the cell vacuome. The authors develop the idea that pressure might act as a factor of physiological function regulation in plants.
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