The content of abscisic acid and the activities of proteinases and trypsin inhibitory proteins, in the germinating seed of common beans under water stress conditions

Specific features of changes in the contents of free and bound abscisic acid (ABA) and the activities of neutral and alkaline proteinases and trypsin inhibitory proteins were determined in the embryonic axis and cotyledons of the common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) after drying. The changes in ABA content, observed following the loss of 5% seed weight, were regarded as an adaptive reaction to stress, whereas the corresponding changes after the loss of 10% of the seed’s weight, was regarded as a result of a pathological disturbance of ABA metabolism. Both drying modes had a negative effect on the state of the proteinase-inhibitory system, as was apparent from the disruption of the regular inverse correlation between the activities of proteinases and serine proteinase inhibitory proteins. A comparison of the dynamics of these characteristics with the buildup of water stress demonstrates an inverse correlation between the content of free ABA and the activity of the proteinases studied. This suggests a potential inhibitory effect of this hormone on the function of the hydrolases in question in the germinating seed.