Expression of the Em gene was characterized in rice (Oryza sativa L.) suspension cultures following exposure of the cultures to various combinations of abscisic acid (ABA) and salt. Response-saturating concentrations of either ABA (50 micromolar) or NaCI (0.4 molar) rapidly induced (by 60 minutes) the accumulation of Em mRNA, with a maximum accumulation occurring 12 to 24 hours after treatment. NaCI-induced Em expression was accompanied by a doubling of endogenous ABA levels as determined by immunoassay. Inhibition of ABA biosynthesis by fluridone during NaCI treatment reduced the levels of endogenous ABA by fourfold and Em expression by 50%. Desiccation of the cultures to 12 to 15% of their initial fresh weight increased endogenous ABA more than twofold and was accompanied by an increase in Em mRNA levels. Exposure of the cultures to heat shock temperatures, chilling, or ultraviolet light neither increased endogenous ABA levels nor induced Em expression. When a subthreshold or saturating level of NaCI was added in combination with increasing levels of ABA, Em transcripts were detected at ABA concentrations that alone did not induce expression of Em. Treatment with saturating levels of both NaCI and ABA resulted in a doubling of Em transcript levels over the maximum signal for each treatment alone. Hence, our data suggested that salt interacted synergistically with ABA, in part because of the increased sensitivity of rice cells to ABA. The effect of salt stress on Em gene expression in rice suspension cells appeared to operate through two pathways: one is mediated through increases in the level of ABA; the other is via a unique salt response pathway that includes an intermediate that is common to both the salt and ABA response chains.Physiological and molecular responses to ABA are controlled by the levels of ABA as well as by the sensitivity of tissues that are competent to respond (16,17,35). One factor that appears to alter the response of plant cells to ABA is V.The interaction between reduced v and ABA has been experimentally well illustrated in rapeseed germination (29) germination (26). Schopfer and Plachy (29) showed that reduced I imposed by osmotic stress and ABA can quantitatively substitute for each other to inhibit rapeseed germination. For example, 50% inhibition of rapeseed germination is achieved with either 22 lsM ABA, 10 gM ABA + 6 bars osmoticum, or 11 bars osmoticum. This two-factor interaction results in a shift in the concentration-response curve for ABA inhibition of germination toward lower ABA concentrations in the presence of an osmoticum, i.e. an osmotically induced change in the sensitivity of the tissue to ABA.The capacity of exogenous ABA or osmoticum to quantitatively substitute for each other suggests a common intermediate in the osmotic stress and ABA response pathways. It is unclear, however, whether osmotic stress operates solely through changes in ABA levels to effect the response. Evidence for osmoticum operating through ABA has been suggested by studies in which e...