Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Abscisic Acid Biosynthesis and Metabolism

  • Chapter
Plant Hormones and their Role in Plant Growth and Development

Abstract

One of the questions which plant physiologists ask about a hormone is how its cellular levels are regulated. The concentration of a hormone, or of any other cellular constituent, will depend on its rate of synthesis and metabolism and on its rate of import into and export from the cell. Abscisic acid (ABA, Fig. 1) is a particularly interesting hormone with regard to the regulation of its levels, since they rise and fall dramatically in several kinds of tissues in response to environmental and developmental changes. When leaves of mesophytic plants are water stressed, ABA levels can rise from 10-to 50-fold within 4 to 8 hours, apparently due to a greatly increased rate of biosynthesis. When the plants are rewatered, the ABA levels drop to pre-stress levels within 4 to 8 hours. The drop in concentration is due to a reduced biosynthetic rate, a vigorous metabolism and possibly export from the leaves. In developing seeds of various plants, ABA levels can rise a hundred-fold within a few days and then decline to low levels as the seeds mature and dessicate. Synthesis and metabolism, as well as import, are involved in changing the ABA levels. Dormant buds and seeds of woody plants accumulate high levels of ABA which then decrease when the tissues are exposed to low temperatures. A combination of synthesis, metabolism, import and export are probably involved in determining the ABA levels in these issues.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
eBook
USD 16.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Asante,G., Merlini, Nasini,G. (1977) (+)-Abscisic acid, a metabolite of the fungus Cercosporarosicola. Experiential, 1556.

    Google Scholar 

  2. Bennett,R.D., Norman, S.M., Maier, V.P. (1981) The biosynthesis of abscisic acid from (1,2-13C2) acetate in Cercospora rosicola. Phytochemistry 20, 2343–2444.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Boyer,G.L., Zeevaart,J.A.D. (1982) Isolation and quantitation of -D-βglucopyranosyl abscisate from leaves of Xanthium and spinach. Plant Physiol. 70, 227–231.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Creelman,R.A., Zeevaart,J.A.D. (1984) Incorporation of oxygen into abscisic acid and phaseic acid from molecular oxygen. Plant Physiol. 75, 166–169.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Dorffling,K., Peterson,W. (1984) Abscisic acid in phytopathogenic fungi of the genera Botrytis, Ceratocystis,Fusarium and Rhizoctonia. Z. Naturforsch. 39c, 683–684.

    Google Scholar 

  6. Firn, R.D., Burden,R.S., Taylor,H.F. (1972) The detection and the estimation of the plant growth inhibitor xanthoxin in plants. Planta 103, 263–266.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Gillard,D.F., Walton,D.C. (1976) Abscisic acid metabolism by a cell-free preparation from Echinocystis lobata liquid endosperm. Plant Physiol. 58, 790–795.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Goodwin,T.W. (1980) The biochemistry of carotenoids, Vol. 1, 2nd edition. Chapman and Hall: London and New York.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  9. Griffin,D.H., Walton, D.C. (1982) Regulation of abscisic acid formation in Mycosphaerella (Cercospora) rosicola by phosphate. Mycologia 74, 614–618.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Hartung,W., Heilmann,B. and Gimmler,H. (1981) Do chloroplasts play a role in abscisic acid synthesis? Plant Sci. Letters, 2, 235–242.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Hartung,W., Gimmler,H. (1982) The compartmentation of abscisic acid (ABA), of ABA- biosynthesis, ABA-metabolism and ABA-conjugation. In Plant Growth Substances 1982, ed. P.F. Wareing, pp. 324–333. London: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  12. Henson,I.E. (1984) Inhibition of abscisic acid accumulation in seedling shoots of pearl millet (Pennisetum americanum L.) following induction of chlorosis by norflurazon. Z. Pflanzenphysiol. 114, 35–43.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Hirai,N. and Koshimizu,K. (1983) A new conjugate of dihydrophaseic acid from avocado fruit. Agric. Biol. Chem. 47, 365–371.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Koshimizu,K., Inui,M., Fukui,H., Mitsui,T. (1968) Isolation of (+)-abscisyl-0-D- glucopyranoside from immature fruit of Lupinus luteus. Agric. Biol. Chem. 32, 789–791.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Lehmann,H., Schutte,H.R. (1976) Biochemistry of phytoeffectors. Biochem. Physiol. Pflanzen 169, 55–61.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Lehmann,H., Schutte,H.R. (1980) Purification and characterization of an abscisic acid glucosylating enzyme from cell suspension cultures of Macleaya microcarpa. Z. Pflanzenphysiol., 96, 277–280.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Loveys,B.R., MilborrowJB.V. (1984) Metabolism of abscisic acid. In The Biosynthesis and Metabolism of Hormones, ed. Alan Crozier and J.R. Hillman, pp. 71–104. Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge.

    Google Scholar 

  18. Milborrow,B.V. (1969) Identification of ‘metabolite C’ from abscisic acid and a new structure for phaseic acid. Chem. Commun. pp. 966–967.

    Google Scholar 

  19. Milborrow,B.V. (1974) Biosynthesis of abscisic acid by a cell-free system. Phytochemistry 13, 131–136.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Milborrow,B.V. (1974) The chemistry and physiology of abscisic acid. Ann. Rev. Plant Physiol. 25, 259–307.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Milborrow,B.V. (1978) Abscisic acid. In Phytohormones and Related Compounds: A Comprehensive Treatise, eds. D.S.Letham, P.B. Goodwin, and T.V.J. Higgins, vol. 1, pp. 295–347. Amsterdam, Oxford, New York: Elsevier/North Holland Biomedical Press.

    Google Scholar 

  22. Milborrow,B.V. (1983) Pathways to and from abscisic acid. In Abscisic Acid Ed. F.T. Addicott, pp. 79–111, Praeger: New York.

    Google Scholar 

  23. Milborrow,B.V. and Vaughan,G.T. (1982) Characterization of dihydrophaseic acid 4-0- p-D-glucopyranoside as a major metabolite of abscisic acid. Australian Journal of Plant Physiology, 9, 361–372.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. Moore,R., Smith,J.D. (1984) Growth, graviresponsiveness and abscisic acid content of Zea mays seedlings treated with fluridone. Planta 162, 342–344.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  25. Moore,R., Smith, J.D. (1985) Graviresponsiveness and abscisic acid content of roots of carotenoid-deficient mutants of\Zea mays. Planta, 164, 126–128.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  26. Neill,S.J., Horgan,R., Lee,T.S., Walton,D.C. (1981) 3-methyl-5-(4′-oxo-2′,6′,6′-trimethyl- cyclohex-2,-en-yl)-2,4-pentadienoic acid, a putative precursor of abscisic acid from Cercospora rosicola. FEES Lett. 128, 30 – 32.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  27. Neill,S.J., Horgan,R., Walton,D.C. (1984) Biosynthesis of abscisic acid. In The Biosynthesis and Metabolism of Hormones, ed. by Alan Crozier and J.R. Hillman. Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge, U.K..

    Google Scholar 

  28. Norman,S.M., Maier,V.P.,Echols,L.C. (1981) Development of a defined medium for growth of Cercospora rosicola Passerini. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 41: 981–85.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  29. Oritani,T., Yamashita,K. (1985) Biosynthesis of (+)abscisic acid in Cercospora cruenta. Ag. Biol. Chem. 49, 245–249.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  30. Quarrie,S.A., Lister,P.G. (1984) Evidence of plastid control of abscisic acid accumulation in barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) Z. Pflanzenphysiol. 114, 295–308.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  31. Robinson,D.R., Ryback,G. (1969) Incorporation of tritium from (4R)-4-3H-mevalonate into abscisic acid. Biochem. J. 113, 895–897.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  32. Taylor,H.F., Smith,T.A. (1967) Production of plant growth inhibitors from xanthophylls: a possible source of dormin. Nature 215, 1513–1514.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  33. Taylor, H.F., Burden,R.S. (1973) Preparation and metabolism of 2-14C-cis, trans xanthoxin. J. Exptl. Bot. 24, 873–880.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  34. Tuan-hua,D.H., Uknes,S.J. (1982) Regulation of abscisic acid metabolism in the aleurone layers of barley seeds. Plant Cell Reports, 1, 270–273.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  35. Walton,D.C. (1980) Biochemistry and physiology of abscisic acid. Annual Review of Plant Physiology 31, 453–489.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  36. Walton,D.C. (1983) Structure-activity relationships of abscisic acid analogs and metabolites. In Ed. F.T. Addicott pp. 113–146, Praeger, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  37. Walton,D.C., Dorn,B. and Fey, J. (1973) The isolation of an abscisic acid metabolite, 4′-dihydrophaseic acid, from non-imbibed Phaseolus vulgaris seed. Planta, 112, 87–90.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  38. Walton,D.C., Li, Yi, Neill,S., Horgan,R. (1985) ABA biosynthesis: a progress report. In Current Topics in Plant Biochemistry and Physiology, Vol. 4 ed. D.D. Randall, D.G. Blevins, R.L. Larson, B.J. Rapp. Interdisciplinary Plant Biochemistry and Plant Physiology Program: Columbia, MO.

    Google Scholar 

  39. Zeevaart, J.A.D. and Milborrow,B.V. (1976) Metabolism of abscisic acid and the occur-rence of epi-dihydrophaseic acid in Phaseolus vulgaris. Phytochemistry, 15, 493–500

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Environmental and Forest Biology, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Syracuse, New York, 13210, USA

    Daniel C. Walton

Authors
  1. Daniel C. Walton
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Section of Plant Biology New York State College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA

    Peter J. Davies

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 1987 Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, Dordrecht

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Walton, D.C. (1987). Abscisic Acid Biosynthesis and Metabolism. In: Davies, P.J. (eds) Plant Hormones and their Role in Plant Growth and Development. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-3585-3_7

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-3585-3_7

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-90-247-3498-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-009-3585-3

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation