Calcium is often used to stabilize membranes and enhance membrane fusion. We have used the fatty acid spin label, 5-nitroxy steanc acid to measure fluidity changes in the plasma membrane of carrot suspension culture celi protoplasts in response to divalent cations. Electron spin resonance spectra from spin-labeled protoplasts showed no membrane fluidity changes (as determined by the hyperfine splitting constant, 2Am.) in the presence of Mg from 0 to 10 millimolar or Ca from 0 to 5 millinolar. Protoplasts in 10 millimolar Ca, however, showed a dramatic increase of 5 gauss in 2Am.a and evidence ofexchange-broadening. The original (control) spectrum was regained by removing bound Ca with a Ca chelator. Polyethylene glycol, which enhances protoplast fusion, did not alter the membrane fluidity in the region of the 5-nitroxy stearic acid probe if added simultaneously with or following 10 millimolar Ca. Pretreatment with polyethylene glycol did, however, inhibit the Ca-induced phase separation. These data on a lving system describe membrane structural changes under conditions similar to those used for protoplast fusion.ESR2 has played an important role in the understanding of molecular motion of lipids in model and biological membrane systems (2,4, 17). We chose the fatty acid spin label 5-NS to measure fluidity changes of the plasma membrane of carrot suspension culture cell protoplasts. The 5-NS probe has the nitroxide moiety on the fifth carbon from the carboxy terminus of stearic acid and the probe intercalates into the membrane bilayer so that the nitroxide is located in the region of the glycerol backbone of phospholipids (4,15). The ESR signal from the probe is thus sensitive to perturbations near the surface of the bilayer. Ca stabilizes membranes and enhances membrane fusion in both artificial and biological systems (3,7,14). Ca binds to the negatively charged phospholipids near the membrane surface resulting in altered membrane fluidity and phase separation of the bilayer (11-13). Reported here are the effects of Ca on membrane fluidity of living carrot protoplasts as determined through ESR using the 5-NS probe. were released enzymically from cells in the exponential phase of growth (3 to 4 days after transfer) (1). The protoplasts were filtered through glass wool and washed once by centrifugation (40g, 5 min) through 1% (w/v) dextran in osmoticum A, which consisted of 0.45 molal sorbitol and 0.5 millimolal Mes (pH 5.5). Debris was further removed by three additional washes in osmoticum A without dextran. Spin-Labeling of Protoplasts. A freshly prepared stock solution of 5-NS spin-label probe (SYVA Co. Palo Alto, CA) in methanol (1.0 mg/0.1 ml) was kept in a darkened tube on ice during an experiment. Aliquots (4 ,ul) were pipetted into 10-ml glass tubes; 0.1 ml settled volume of protoplasts (approximately 105 protoplasts) was added, and the tube was tapped gently to mix the protoplasts and the spin-label. Labeled protoplasts were immediately drawn up into a quartz capillary (1 mm i.d., Wilmad Glass Co...