Expression of an mRNA with sequence similarity to pea dehydrin (Psdhn 1) in guard cells of Vicia faba in response to exogenous abscisic acid

The function and location of guard cells uniquely subject them to stress. First, stomatal movements require large fluctuations in the concentration of potassium salts. Second, guard cell inner walls are the first surfaces exposed to evaporation and apoplastic solutes may accumulate there as a result. We have therefore investigated whether guard cells exhibit atypical expression of dehydrin genes because dehydrins accumulate in vegetative tissues in response to water stress. We have also assayed for osmotin mRNA, which is up-regulated in leaves in response to various stresses. mRNA probes for several representative genes were used with RNA extracts from control and water-stressed Vicia faba leaflets. Correlatively, these probes were used with RNA extracts from "isolated' guard cells that had been incubated with combinations of abscisic acid, mannitol and Ca²⁺. (Isolated guard cells are epidermal strips sonicated to destroy cells other than guard cells.) Hybridization with the probe prepared for a dehydrin from Pisum sativum (Psdhn 1) was detected in leaf extracts only if the leaf had been stressed. Similarly, after 1- and 6-h incubations with abscisic acid, isolated guard cells contained an mRNA that hybridized with the probe for Psdhn 1. Appearance of this abscisic acid-dependent mRNA required neither mannitol nor exogenous Ca²⁺. Regardless of the conditions or tissue, no hybridization was detected with the probe against osmotin, but our interpretation of this result is qualified. The simplest conclusion is that atypical expression of dehydrin is not the mechanism by which guard cells cope with their peculiar function and location.