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Abscisic acid accumulation and oxidative stress are two common responses of plants to environmental stresses. However, little is known about their relationships. The purpose of this article is to investigate the effects of reactive oxygen species and nitric oxide on the plant hormone abscisic acid synthesis in root tips of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) seedlings under drought stress. Detached root tips were subjected to drought stress by naturally evaporating until 20% of their fresh weights were lost. The activities of superoxide synthases and nitric oxide synthase (EC 1.14.13.39) increased after 20 min of treatment and abscisic acid began to accumulate 60 min later. The induction of abscisic acid by drought was strongly blocked by pretreating the root tips with reactive oxygen species eliminators tiron or ascorbate acid, and with nitric oxide synthase inhibitor Nω-nitro-L-arginine or nitric oxide eliminator 2-phenyl-4,4,5,5-tetramethyl-imidazoline-1-oxyl 3-oxide. Consistent with these results, reactive oxygen species generators diethyldithiocarbamic acid, xanthine–xanthine oxidase and triazole or nitric oxide donor sodium nitroprusside can also induce abscisic acid accumulation in root tips of wheat seedlings. While potentiated by reactive oxygen species, the effect of sodium nitroprusside on abscisic acid accumulation was blocked by 2-phenyl-4,4,5,5-tetramethyl-imidazoline-1-oxyl 3-oxide. Based on these results, we suggest that reactive oxygen species and nitric oxide play important roles in drought-induced abscisic acid synthesis in plant, they may be the signals through which the plant can ‘sense’ the drought condition.

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