Inhibition of ion accumulation in maize roots by abscisic acid

Effect of nitrogen stress and abscisic acid on nitrate absorption and transport in barley and tomato

The potential of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) and tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) roots for net NO 3 (-) absorption increased two-to five fold within 2 d of being deprived of NO 3 (-) supply. Nitrogen-starved barley roots continued to maintain a high potential for NO 3 (-) absorption, whereas NO 3 (-) absorption by tomato roots declined below control levels after 10 d of N starvation. When placed in a 0.2 mM NO 3 (-) solution, roots of both species transported more NO 3 (-) and total solutes to the xylem after 2 d of N starvation than did N-sufficient controls. However, replenishment of root NO 3 (-) stores took precedence over NO 3 (-) transport to the xylem. Consequently, as N stress became more severe, transport of NO 3 (-) and total solutes to the xylem declined, relative to controls. Nitrogen stress caused an increase in hydraulic conductance (L p) and exudate volume (J v) in barley but decrased these parameters in tomato. Nitrogen stress had no significant effect upon abscisic acid (ABA) levels in roots of barley or flacca (a low-ABA mutant) tomato, but prevented an agerelated decline in ABA in wild-type tomato roots. Applied ABA had the same effect upon barley and upon the wild type and flacca tomatoes: L p and J v were increased, but NO 3 (-) absorption and NO 3 (-) flux to the xylem were either unaffected or sometimes inhibited. We conclude that ABA is not directly involved in the normal changes in NO 3 (-) absorption and transport that occur with N stress in barley and tomato, because (1) the root ABA level was either unaffected by N stress (barley and flacca tomato) or changed, after the greatest changes in NO 3 (-) absorption and transport and L p had been observed (wild-type tomato); (2) changes in NO 3 (-) absorption/transport characteristics either did not respond to applied ABA, or, if they did, they changed in the direction opposite to that predicted from changes in root ABA with N stress; and (3) the flacca tomato (which produces very little ABA in response to N stress) responded to N stress with very similar changes in NO 3 (-) transport to those observed in the wild type.

Abscisic acid increases lipid bilayer permeability to cations as studied by phosphorus-31 NMR

Using a 31P-NMR lanthanide shift technique, abscisic acid is shown to enhance the permeability to praeseodymium of lipid bilayers composed of 80 mol% phosphatidylcholine and 20 mol% phosphatidylethanolamine. Praeseodymium permeability is immeasurably slow in the absence of the hormone whether or not phosphatidylethanolamine is present in the bilayers. Only in the presence of abscisic acid is praeseodymium permeability observed, the effect being significantly greater when phosphatidylethanolamine is present. These results substantiate prior reports from nonelectrolyte permeability studies that abscisic acid interacts with phosphatidylethanolamine in lipid bilayers.

Osmoregulation and membrane-mediated responses to altered water potential in plant cells

Plant cells respond to short-term stress dehydration by modification of internal psi pi such that an inward gradient of psi w is maintained. In response to lowered psi w, increases in internal psi pi are created by alteration of cell inorganic ions and small organic solute content. Passive movement of water follows, changing cell hydration and forcing the plasma membrane against the elastic cell wall. The stretched cell wall presses against the cell contents, creating a hydrostatic pressure, psi p, which tends to force water out of the cell. The resulting hydrostatic pressure eventually comes into equilibrium with forces bringing water into the cell, largely psi pi, and the net flow of water ceases. The mechanism for sensing cell psi w changes is unknown but the initial event must be physical, not biochemical. The method of translation of such physical events into biochemical actions is also unknown but the Zimmermann model provides a means of signal transduction and amplification, through the alteration of membrane parameters, which could account for the observed changes. As for animal cells, cell levels of Ca2+ are important for their regulation of membrane Pj in these responses but unlike osmoregulation in higher animals, the involvement of plant hormones in these responses have not been clearly established. However, the important role of plant cell limiting membranes in plant cell osmoregulation responses seems obvious.

The effects of water stress on abscisic-acid levels and metabolism in roots of Phaseolus vulgaris L. and other plants

Abscisic-acid (ABA) levels in roots of bean plants exposed to a-4 bar stress in the root medium increased ca. 10fold within 1 h and 16fold by the end of the 2nd h. Several types of experiments indicated that there is no transport requirement from the shoot for the increase to occur. ABA levels in roots from pea (Pisum sativum L.) and sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) also increased in response to a-4 bar stress, although not as dramatically as in bean. When (S)-[2-(14)C]-ABA was fed to excised bean roots dihydrophaseic acid (DPA) was the major metabolite formed. The levels of endogenous DPA and phaseic acid increased markedly during a 27-h stress period. These results are consistent with a possible role for ABA in roots of water-stressed plants.