ABA in Roots and Leaves of Flooded Pea Plants

Zhang, J. and Davies, W. J. 1987. ABA in roots and leaves offlooded pea plants.—J. exp. Bot. 38: 649–659. Roots of potted pea (Pisum sativum L. cv. Feltham First) seedlingswere flooded with tap water. Within a few hours of the startof the flooding treatment the content of free ABA in roots increasedcompared to contents of roots of unflooded control plants butthis increase was not statistically significant until the beginningof the second day after flooding. Approximately 36 h after firstflooding significant increases in the free-ABA content of leaveswere detected. This was 14 h after significant increases inthe amount of ABA in the roots of the same plants. There wasmarked diurnal variation in free-ABA content of leaves and rootsof plants that had been flooded for several days, with maximumcontents recorded 3 h or more after the beginning of the lightperiod. Very rapidly after the lights were switched oft ABAcontents declined. On day 3 of the flooding treatment, therewas more than a 5-fold decrease in the free-ABA content of leaveswithin a few hours of the beginning of the dark period. Radio-immunoassaysuggested that a very large proportion of the total ABA in theplant was in a bound form. This form of ABA increased substantiallyas the flooding period progressed. The importance of variation in ABA content for the control ofwater relations and gas exchange of flooded plants is discussed. Key words: Flooding, Pisum sativum, ABA, water relations