Violaxanthin is an abscisic acid precursor in water-stressed dark-grown bean leaves

Journal Article · Thu Mar 01 00:00:00 EST 1990 · Plant Physiology; (USA)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1104/pp.92.3.551· OSTI ID:5726128

Li, Yi; Walton, D C ^[1]

---

1. State Univ. of New York, Syracuse (USA)

The leaves a dark-grown bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) seedlings accumulate considerably lower quantities of xanthophylls and carotenes than do leaves of light-grown seedlings, but they synthesize at least comparable amounts of abscisic acid (ABA) and its metabolites when water stressed. We observed a 1:1 relationship on a molar basis between the reduction in levels of ciolaxanthin, 9{prime}-cis-neoxanthin, and 9-cis-violaxanthin and the accumulation of ABA, phaseic acid, and dihydrophaseic acid, when leaves from dark-grown plants were stressed for 7 hours. Early in the stress period, reductions in xanthophylls were greater than the accumulation of ABA and its metabolites, suggesting the accumulation of an intermediate which was subsequently converted to ABA. Leaves which were detached, but no stressed, did not accumulate ABA nor were their xanthophyll levels reduced. Leaves from plants that had been sprayed with cycloheximido did not accumulate ABA when stressed, nor were their xanthophyll levels reduced significantly. Incubation of dark-grown stressed leaves in an {sup 18}O{sub 2}-containing atmosphere resulted in the synthesis of ABA with levels of {sup 18}O in the carboxyl group that were virtually identical to those observed in light-grown leaves. The results of these experiments indicate that violaxanthin is an ABA precursor in stressed dark-grown leaves, and they are used to suggest several possible pathways from violaxanthin to ABA.

• OSTI ID: 5726128
• Journal Information: Plant Physiology; (USA), Vol. 92:3; ISSN 0032-0889
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
ABSCISIC ACID
BIOSYNTHESIS
DROUGHTS
BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS
OXYGEN 18
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PHASEOLUS
SEEDLINGS
TRACER TECHNIQUES
AUXINS
CARBOXYLIC ACIDS
EVEN-EVEN NUCLEI
ISOTOPE APPLICATIONS
ISOTOPES
LEGUMINOSAE
LIGHT NUCLEI
MAGNOLIOPHYTA
MAGNOLIOPSIDA
MONOCARBOXYLIC ACIDS
NUCLEI
ORGANIC ACIDS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
OXYGEN ISOTOPES
PLANT GROWTH REGULATORS
PLANTS
STABLE ISOTOPES
SYNTHESIS
550201* - Biochemistry- Tracer Techniques