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Bean leaf stomata provide a topographical signal that induces germlings of the phytopathogen Uromyces appendiculatus to develop specialized infection structures. Protoplasts from germ tubes of this fungus, when examined with patch-clamp electrodes, displayed the activities of a 600-picosiemen mechanosensitive ion channel. This channel passes a variety of cations, including Ca2+, and is blocked by Gd3+ at 50 micromolar. This channel could transduce the membrane stress induced by the leaf topography into an influx of ions, including Ca2+, that may trigger differentiation.
Zhou et al. (Fri,) studied this question.