Vacuolar Membrane Lesions Induced by a Freeze-Thaw Cycle in Protoplasts Isolated from Deacclimated Tubers of Jerusalem Artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus L.)

The processes of freezing injury in Jerusalem artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus L.) tubers were studied using protoplasts isolated from cold-acclimated and deacclimated tubers. Prior to freezing, protoplasts were preloaded with 10 microM fluorescein diacetate (FDA) in an isotonic sorbitol solution. After freeze-thawing at various temperatures, cell viability was evaluated under a fluorescence microscope. In cold-acclimated tubers, more than 80% of protoplasts survived freezing to -20 degrees C. By contrast, in deacclimated tubers, the cell survival abruptly declined after freezing to temperatures below -5 degrees C. Thus, freezing tolerance differed significantly between protoplasts isolated from cold-acclimated and deacclimated tubers. Two distinct types of cell injury, which were caused by either damage to plasma membrane (cell-lysis type) or by damage to the vacuolar membrane (abnormal-staining type), were observed, depending on the cold hardiness and freezing temperature. In the cells of the abnormal-staining type, shrinkage of the central vacuolar space and simultaneous acidification of the cytoplasmic space were characteristically observed immediately before complete cell-rehydration during thawing. The decrease in freezing tolerance of protoplasts after deacclimation was suggested to be due mainly to destabilization of the vacuolar membrane by freeze-induced dehydration stress.