The Contents of Abscisic Acid and Cytokinins in Wild-Growing Species Using Different Ecological Strategies

The biomass structure and the contents of (ABA) and cytokinins (zeatin plus zeatin riboside) were studied in flowering plants of ten herbaceous species of the Middle Urals representing stress-tolerant (S) and ruderal (R) ecological strategies. The plants, which explicitly manifested S- and R-strategies, differed in ABA and cytokinin concentrations and phytohormone partitioning in particular organs. Higher ABA accumulation in the leaves and especially in the reproductive organs (here the ABA concentration exceeded by several times that of cytokinins) was characteristic of the R-plants as compared to the S-plants. In addition, the R-plants manifested higher cytokinin contents in the roots, whereas, in the S-plants, cytokinins dominated in the leaves and the reproductive organs (in the latter, the content of cytokinins exceeded that of ABA). The diverse hormonal status of the R- and S-species is discussed in relation to the patterns of plant growth and development and the photosynthate transport and partitioning characteristic of two ecological strategies. The authors conclude that plant ability to maintain the typical hormonal balance is instrumental in acquiring specific ecological strategies.