ATP and ADP contents in leaves of drying and rehydrating desiccation tolerant plants

Summary All species of desiccation tolerant angiosperms studied conserved some ATP in air-dry viable leaves. Otherwise there was no uniformity of response to drying: ATP content remained high in some species, but fell markedly in the others. ATP levels stayed high in Boea hygroscopica and Borya constricta until relative water content fell below 30%. ATP content recovered in the first 2 h of rehydration in Boea, but recovery was gradual in Borya, taking more than 16 h.Abbreviations ADP adenosine 5-diphosphate - ATP adenosine 5-triphosphate - BES N,N-bis[2-hydroxyethyl]-2-aminoethanesulfonic acid - HEPES N-2-hydroxyethylpiperazine-N¹-2-ethanesulfonic acid - RH relative humidity - RWC relative water content