Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The effect of drought on levels of abscisic acid, cytokinins, gibberellins and ethylene in aeroponically-grown sunflower plants

  • Published:
Plant Growth Regulation Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Abscisic acid (ABA), cytokinins and gibberellin-like substances (GAs) were extracted from the roots and shoots of 17-day-old sunflower seedlings which had been droughted or were unstressed. Plants were grown in an aeroponic chamber which allowed for good control over degree of water stress and easy access to roots. Following methanolic extraction of lyophilized material, cytokinins were separated from the acidic growth-regulators on a cellulose PO4 cationic exchange column. The cytokinins were analysed by paper chromatography and HPLC and the soybean hypocotyl section assay. Semipurified acidic regulators were chromatographed on SiO2 columns and HPLC and aliquots assayed with the dwarf rice cv. Tan-ginbozu bioassay for GAs. Fractions known to contain ABA were purified by sequential reverse-phase HPLC of the acid and then of the methyl ester forms followed by quantitation as Me-ABA on GLC-EC. ABA losses were measured by using an internal standard [3H]-ABA). Ethylene production was also monitored in stressed and unstressed seedlings.

The effect of drought on GAs and ethylene was minimal. The ABA levels were markedly higher in droughted plants. Stressed roots had 32 times more ABA than controls. The levels of cytokinins in the shoots of droughted plants were about half those in unstressed shoots, and qualitative differences occurred in the roots. Under stress a large peak of activity was present similar to zeatin glucoside which was not present in the unstressed condition. The results are discussed in relation to drought-effects on metabolism.

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

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Aharoni N, Blumenfeld A and Richmond AE (1977) Hormonal activity in detached lettuce leaves as affected by leaf water content. Plant Physiol 59:1169–1173

    Google Scholar 

  • Back A, Bittner S and Richmond AE (1972) The effect of abscisic acid on the metabolism of kinetin in detached leaves of Rumex pulcher. J Exp Bot 23:744–750

    Google Scholar 

  • Bengtson C, Falk SO and Larsson S (1977) The after-effect of water stress on transpiration rate and changes in abscisic acid content of young wheat plants. Physiol Plant 41:149–154

    Google Scholar 

  • Cooper MJ and Digby J (1972) Effects of plant hormones on the stomata of barley: A study of the interaction between abscisic acid and kinetin. Planta 105:43–49

    Google Scholar 

  • Cram WJ and Pitman MG (1972) The actions of abscisic acid on ion uptake and water flow in plant roots. Aust J Biol Sci 25:1125–1132

    Google Scholar 

  • Dhindsa RS, Plumb-Dhindsa PL and Reid DM (1982) Leaf senescence and lipid peroxidation: Effects of some phytohormones and scavengers of free radicals and singlet oxygen. Physiol Plant 56:453–457

    Google Scholar 

  • El-Beltagy AS and Hall MA (1974) Effect of water stress upon endogenous ethylene levels in Vicia faba. New Phytol 73:47–60

    Google Scholar 

  • Evans ML (1984) Functions of hormones at the cellular level of organization. In: Scott TK, ed. Hormonal Regulation of Development II. Encyclopedia of Plant Physiology Vol. 10:23–79

  • Glinka Z (1980) Abscisic acid promotes both volume flow and ion release to the xylem in sunflower roots. Plant Physiol 65:537–540

    Google Scholar 

  • Greenwood MS (1981) Reproductive development in loblolly pine. II. The effect of age, gibberellin plus water stress and out-of-phase dormancy on long shoot growth behavior. Amer J Bot 68:1184–1190

    Google Scholar 

  • Horton RF (1971) Stomatal opening: The role of abscisic acid. Can J Bot 49:585–585

    Google Scholar 

  • Hsiao TC (1973) Plant responses to water stress. Ann Rev Plant Physiol 24:519–570

    Google Scholar 

  • Hubick KT, Drakeford DR and Reid DM (1982) A comparison of two techniques for growing minimally water-stressed plants. Can J Bot 60:219–223.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hurd EA (1974) Phenotype and drought tolerance in wheat. Agric Meteorol 14:39–55

    Google Scholar 

  • Itai C and Benzioni A (1976) Water stress and hormonal response. In: Lange OL, Kappen L and Schulze ED, eds. Water and Plant Life, pp. 225–242. Berlin: Springer-Verlag

    Google Scholar 

  • Itai C and Vaadia Y (1965) Kinetin-like activity in root exudate of water stressed sunflower plants. Physiol Plant 18:941–945.

    Google Scholar 

  • Itai C and Vaadia Y (1971) Cytokinin activity in water-stressed shoots. Plant Physiol 47:87–90

    Google Scholar 

  • Kaufman PB, Ghosheh NS, Nakosteen L, Pharis RP, Durley RC and Morf W (1976) Analysis of native gibberellins in the internode, nodes, leaves and inflorescence of developing Avena plants. Plant Physiol 58:131–134

    Google Scholar 

  • King RW (1976) Implications for plant growth of the transport of regulatory compounds in phloem and xylem. In: Wardlaw IF and Passioura JB, eds. Transport and Transfer Process in Plants, pp. 415–423. New York: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Koshioka M, Harada J, Takeno K, Noma M, Sassa T, Ogiyama K, Taylor JS, Rood SB, Legge RL and Pharis RP (1983) Reversed-phase C18 high-performance liquid chromatography of acidic and conjugated gibberellins. J Chrom 256:101–115.

    Google Scholar 

  • Leopold AC and Nooden LD (1984) Hormonal regulatory systems in plants. In: Scot TK, ed. Hormonal Regulation of Development II. Encyclopedia of Plant Physiology N.S. Vol. 10:4–22.

  • Little CHA and Eidt DC (1968) Effect of abscisic acid on budbreak and transpiration in woody species. Nature (London) 220:498–499.

    Google Scholar 

  • Livne A and Vaadia Y (1965) Stimulation of transpiration rate in barley leaves by kinetin and gibberellic acid. Physiol Plant 18:658–664.

    Google Scholar 

  • Luke HH and Freeman TE (1968) Stimulation of transpiration by cytokinins. Nature (London) 217:873–874.

    Google Scholar 

  • Manos PJ and Goldthwaite J (1976) An improved cytokinin bioassay using cultured soybean hypocotyl sections. Plant Physiol 57:894–897.

    Google Scholar 

  • Meyer RD and Boyer JS (1981) Osmoregulation, solute-distribution, and growth in soybean seedlings having low water potentials. Planta (Berlin) 151:482–489.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pallas JE and Box JE (1970) Explantation for the stomatal response of excised leaves to kinetin. Nature (London) 227:87–88

    Google Scholar 

  • Pallas JE Jr and Kays SJ (1982) Inhibition of photosynthesis by ethylene — a stomatal effect. Plant Physiol 70:598–601

    Google Scholar 

  • Quarrie SA and Jones HG (1977) Effects of abscisic acid and water stress on development and morphology of wheat. J Exp Bot 28:192–203

    Google Scholar 

  • Raschke K (1979) Movements of Stomata. In: Haupt W and Feinleib ME, eds. Physiology of Movements. Encyclopedia of Plant Physiol N.S. Vol. 7: 383–441. Berlin: Springer-Verlag

    Google Scholar 

  • Sionit N (1977) Water status and yield of sunflowers (Helianthus annuus) subjected to water stress during four stages of development. J Agr Sci Camb 89:663–666

    Google Scholar 

  • Tal M and Imber D (1970) Abnormal stomatal behavior and hormonal imbalance in Flacca, a wilty mutant of tomato. II. Auxin- and abscisic acid-like activity. Plant Physiol 46:373–376

    Google Scholar 

  • Taylor JS and Simpson GM (1980) endogenous hormones in afterripening wild oat (Avena fatua) seed. Can J Bot 58:1016–1024

    Google Scholar 

  • Taylor JS, Koshioka M, Pharis RP and Sweet GB (1984) Changes in cytokinins and gibberellin-like substances in Pinus radiata buds during lateral shoot initiation and the characterization of ribosyl zeatin and a novel ribosyl zeatin glycoside. Plant Physiol 74:626–631

    Google Scholar 

  • Taylor JS, Reid DM and Pharis RP (1981) Mutual antagonism of sulphur dioxide and abscisic acid in their effect on stomatal aperture in broad bean (Vicia faba L.) epidermal strips. Plant Physiol 68:1504–1507.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thimann KV and Satler SO (1979) Relation between leaf senescence and stomatal closure: senescence in light. Proc Nat Acad Sci USA 76:2295–2298

    Google Scholar 

  • Vaadia Y (1976) Plant hormones and water stress. Phil Trans R Soc Lond B 273:513–522

    Google Scholar 

  • Van Staden J and Smith AR (1978) The synthesis of cytokinins in excised tomato roots of maize and tomato under aseptic conditions. Ann Bot 42:751–753

    Google Scholar 

  • Van Staden J and Davey JE (1979) The synthesis, transport and metabolism of endogenous cytokinins. Plant Cell Environ 2:93–106

    Google Scholar 

  • Walton DC, Harrison MA and Cote P (1976) The effects of water stress on abscisic acid levels and metabolism in roots of Phasiolus vulgaris L. and other plants. Planta (Berlin) 131:141–144.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wright STC (1980) The effect of plant growth regulator treatments on the levels of ethylene emanating from excised turgid and wilted wheat leaves. Plants (Berlin) 148:381–388

    Google Scholar 

  • Wright STC and Hiron RWP (1969) (+)-Abscisic acid, the growth inhibitor induced in detached wheat leaves by a period of wilting. Nature (London) 224:719–720.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yoshida R and Oritani T (1972) Cytokinin glucoside in roots of the rice plant. Plant Cell Physiol 13:337–343

    Google Scholar 

  • Zeroni M and Hall MA (1980) Molecular effects of hormone treatment on tissue. In: MacMillan J, ed. Hormonal Regulation of Development I. Encyclopedia of Plant Physiology N.S. Vol. 9:511–586

Download references

Author information

Author notes

  1. K. T. Hubick

    Present address: Research School of Biological Sciences, Australian National University, 2601, Canberra, A.C.T., Australia

  2. J. S. Taylor

    Present address: Agriculture Canada, Research Station, Box 1420, TOC 1SO, Lacombe, Alberta, Canada

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Plant Physiology Research Group, Biology Department, University of Calgary, T2N 1N4, Calgary, Alberta, Canada

    K. T. Hubick, J. S. Taylor & D. M. Reid

Authors
  1. K. T. Hubick
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. J. S. Taylor
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. D. M. Reid
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Hubick, K.T., Taylor, J.S. & Reid, D.M. The effect of drought on levels of abscisic acid, cytokinins, gibberellins and ethylene in aeroponically-grown sunflower plants. Plant Growth Regul 4, 139–151 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00025195

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00025195

Key words

Search

Navigation