Abscisic acid and other hormonal effects on growth in Spirodela.

Abstract

The effects of abscisic acid In particular, as well well as gibberellic acid and the cytoklnlns, 6-benzyladenine, kinetin, and 6-dlmethylal lalylamlnopurine, on the growth of Spirodela oligorrhiza were investigated. Abscisic acid effectively arrested growth permanently at concentrations down to 10¯¹ mg/I. Normal growth tended to be resumed at concentrations of 10¯² and 10¯³ mg/l between nine and twelve days after treatment. A concentration of 10[-8] mg/l, however, resulted in a significant increase in dry weight at both eight, nine and twelve days after introduction into the culture medium. It is suggested that the resumption of growth twelve days after treatment at those concentrations which inhibit growth up to nine days, was due to a possible progressive inactivation of abscisic acid resulting in a lowering of its concentration to a level that is promotive. It was furthermore found that the growth response of Spirodela in terms of dry weight production over a period of eight days is proportional to the log[10] concentration of abscisic acid. It is suggested that this curve can be used as a relatively reliable and easily performed bioassay to detect amounts of abscisic acid as low as 10[-5] μg. The assay is more reliable over the range 0.01 to 10,000 μg and appears not to be affected by gibberellin, benzyladenine and kinetin. The inhibitory effect of abscisic acid on growth in Spirodela was shown to be reversed by benzyladenine, kinetin and dimethylallalylaminopurine, although they were not equally effective in doing so. Benzyladenine at 1.0 mg/l was the most effective In overcoming growth inhibition by abscisic acid. Gibberellic acid, however, proved ineffective in reversing the inhibitory effect of abscisic acid on Spirodela oligorrhiza. The apparent Increases in growth obtained in some cases may have resulted more directly from gibberellic acid stimulation than from the Interaction of gibberel lie acid with abscisic acid.