Transport of Chloride in the ‘Symplasm’ of Vallisneria Leaves

Abstract

Vallisneria leaves exposed to light show a fairly constant chloride absorption¹; by secretion into the vacuole, the osmotic value of the cell sap is enhanced. If a part of the leaf is in contact with a chloride solution, the chloride is introduced into the cytoplasm and is translocated through it to the rest of the leaf. The chloride can be accumulated in the vacuoles in any part of the leaf that is exposed to light. If the absorbing zone is in the light and the rest of the leaf, here called the ‘free part’, in the dark, there is no noticeable transport and all the chloride absorbed remains in the absorption zone. If this zone is in the dark and the free part exposed to light, accumulation in the absorption zone is smaller and that in the free part much larger. This points to a transport in the cytoplasm and a secretion into the vacuoles under the influence of light².