ABA or cadmium induced phytochelatin synthesis in potato tubers

Abstract

Short-term treatment of potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) tuber discs with CdCl 2 solution elevated both the StPCS1 transcript level, phytochelatin synthase (PCS) activity and contents of phytochelatin (PC) and abscisic acid (ABA). Similar effects but less marked were noticed after treatment of tuber tissues with ABA solution. Cd-treatment increased also cysteine (CYS) content but did not change glutathione content. If ABA treatment preceded Cd-treatment, the elevation of CYS and PC contents were limited. The data suggest the participation of ABA in the regulation of PCS.

Effect of short-term cadmium stress on Populus nigra L. detached leaves

“…ABA is a well-known stress hormone, responsible for stomata closure and inhibition of growth under unfavourable conditions (Peleg and Blumwald, 2011), but its role in plant response to Cd stress remains to be elucidated. An increase of ABA concentrations has been reported upon Cd short term treatment of potato plants (Stroiński et al, 2010), rice (Hsu and Kao, 2003) and citrus leaves (LopezCliment et al, 2011). Different functions have been proposed for ABA in Cd stress response.…”

Exogenous abscisic acid alleviates zinc uptake and accumulation in Populus × canescens exposed to excess zinc

“…The alleviation of heavy metal toxicity in plants by exogenous ABA application is likely ascribed to the following factors: (1) exogenous ABA triggers signalling cascades in plants that prime defences against heavy metal stress; (2) exogenous ABA enhances the transcriptional regulation of genes involved in the detoxification of heavy metals and the contents of chelators for heavy metals (Stroinski et al . ); and (3) exogenous ABA increases the activities of antioxidative enzymes, leading to reduced heavy metal‐induced oxidative stress (Wang et al . ).…”

“…Moreover, elevated ABA levels in plants can trigger the signalling cascades downstream of phytohormones, such as salicylic acid (SA) and auxin (IAA), which may also mitigate heavy metal‐induced toxicity (Stroinski et al . ; Noriega et al . ; Disante et al .…”

A Central Role for Thiols in Plant Tolerance to Abiotic Stress

“…A possible role of phytochelatins in the protection of antioxidants and proteins may explain their function in tolerance to other abiotic stresses. Nonetheless, reports on the functions of phytochelatins other than in metal chelation are scarce and care should be taken to draw conclusions from potentially spurious correlations: the expression and activity of phytochelatin synthase is induced by ABA [130], but does not necessarily require the presence of metal ions. ABA is involved in plant response to abiotic stress at a very high level, with downstream effects on other plant hormones [131].…”