Skip to main content
Log in

Tobacco-mosaic-virus-induced increase in abscisic-acid concentration in tobacco leaves:

Intracellular location in light and dark-green areas, and relationship to symptom development

  • Published:
Planta Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The concentrations of free and bound abscisic acid (ABA and the presumed ABA glucose ester) increased three- to fourfold in leaves of White Burley tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) systemically infected with tobacco mosaic virus. Infected leaves developed a distinct mosaic of light-green and dark-green areas. The largest increases in both free and bound ABA occurred in dark-green areas. In contrast, virus accumulated to a much higher concentration in light-green tissue. Free ABA in healthy leaves was contained predominantly within the chloroplasts while the majority of bound ABA was present in non-chloroplastic fractions. Chloroplasts from light-green or dark-green tissues were able to increase stromal pH on illumination by an amount similar to chloroplasts from healthy leaf. It is unlikely therefore that any virus-induced diminution of pH gradient is responsible for increased ABA accumulation. Tobacco mosaic virus infection had little effect on free ABA concentration in chloroplasts; the virus-induced increase in free ABA occurred predominantly out-side the chloroplast. The proportional distribution of bound ABA in the cell was not changed by infection. Treatment of healthy plants with ABA or water stress increased chlorophyll concentration by an amount similar to that induced by infection in dark-green areas of leaf. A role for increased ABA concentration in the development of mosaic symptoms is suggested.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Abbreviations

ABA:

abscisic acid

TMV:

tobacco mosaic virus

References

  • Atkinson, P.H., Matthews, R.E.F. (1970) On the origin of dark green tissue in tobacco leaves infected with tobacco mosaic virus. Virology 40, 344–356

    Google Scholar 

  • Fraser, R.S.S. (1969) Effects of two TMV strains on the synthesis and stability of chloroplast ribosomal RNA in tobacco leaves. Mol. Gen. Genet. 106, 73–79

    Google Scholar 

  • Fraser, R.S.S. (1982) Are ‘pathogenesis-related’ proteins involved in acquired systemic resistance of tobacco plants to tobacco mosaic virus? J. Gen. Virol. 58, 305–313

    Google Scholar 

  • Fraser, R.S.S., Whenham, R.J. (1982) Plant growth regulators and virus infection: A critical review. Plant Growth Regul. 1, 37–59

    Google Scholar 

  • Fulton, R.W. (1951) Superinfection by strains of tobacco mosaic virus. Phytopathology 41, 579–592

    Google Scholar 

  • Hall, H.K., McWha, J.A. (1981) Effects of abscisic acid on growth of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). Ann. Bot. 47, 427–433

    Google Scholar 

  • Hartung, W., Gimmler, H., Heilmann, B. (1982) The compartmentation of abscisic acid (ABA), of ABA-biosynthesis, ABA-metabolism and ABA-conjugation. In: Plant growth substances 1982, pp. 325–333, Wareing, P.F., ed. Academic Press, London New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Hartung, W., Heilmann, B., Gimmler, H. (1981) Do chloroplasts play a role in abscisic acid synthesis? Plant Sci. Lett. 22, 235–242

    Google Scholar 

  • Heilmann, B., Hartung, W., Gimmler, H. (1980) The distribution of abscisic acid between chloroplasts and cytoplasm of leaf cells and the permeability of the chloroplast envelope for abscisic acid. Z. Pflanzenphysiol. 97, 67–78

    Google Scholar 

  • Heldt, H.W., Werdan, K., Milovancev, M., Geller, G. (1973) Alkalization of the chloroplast stroma caused by light-dependent proton flux into the thylakoid space. Biochim. Biophys. Acta 314, 224–241

    Google Scholar 

  • Hirai, A., Wildman, S.G. (1969) Effect of TMV multiplication on RNA and protein synthesis in tobacco chloroplasts. Virology 38, 73–82

    Google Scholar 

  • Kaiser, W.M., Hartung, W. (1981) Uptake and release of abscisic acid by isolated photoautotrophic mesophyll cells, depending on pH gradients. Plant Physiol. 68, 202–206

    Google Scholar 

  • Ladygina, M.E., Grishkova, V.P., Alyoshina, N.V. (1979) Membrane proteins of chloroplasts of intact and TMV-infected tobacco plants. [In Russ.] Biokhimiya 44, 1635–1642

    Google Scholar 

  • Leegood, R.C., Walker, D.A. (1983) Chloroplasts (including protoplasts of high carbon dioxide fixation ability). In: Isolation of membranes and organelles from plant cells, pp. 185–210, Hall, J.L., Moore, A.L., eds. Academic Press, London New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Loveys, B.R. (1977) The intracellular location of abscisic acid in stressed and non-stressed leaf tissue. Physiol. Plant. 40, 6–10

    Google Scholar 

  • Milborrow, B.V. (1970) The metabolism of abscisic acid. J. Exp. Bot. 21, 17–29

    Google Scholar 

  • Milborrow, B.V. (1974a) The chemistry and physiology of abscisic acid. Annu. Rev. Plant Physiol. 25, 259–307

    Google Scholar 

  • Milborrow, B.V. (1974b) Biosynthesis of abscisic acid by a cell-free system. Phytochemistry 13, 131–136

    Google Scholar 

  • Milborrow, B.V. (1978) The stability of conjugated abscisic acid during wilting. J. Exp. Bot. 29, 1059–1066

    Google Scholar 

  • Mills, W.R., Joy, K.W. (1980) A rapid method for isolation of purified, physiologically active chloroplasts, used to study the intracellular distribution of amino acids in pea leaves. Planta 148, 75–83

    Google Scholar 

  • Murakishi, H.H., Carlson, P.S. (1976) Regeneration of virus-free plants from dark-green islands of tobacco mosaic virus-infected tobacco leaves. Phytopathology 66, 931–932

    Google Scholar 

  • Neill, S.J., Horgan, R., Heald, J.K. (1983) Determination of the levels of abscisic acid-glucose ester in plants. Planta 157, 371–375

    Google Scholar 

  • Pierce, M., Raschke, K. (1980) Correlation between loss of turgor and accumulation of abscisic acid in detached leaves. Planta 148, 174–182

    Google Scholar 

  • Quarric, S.A., Lister, P.G. (1984) Evidence of plastid control of abscisic acid accumulation in barley (Hordeum vulgare L.). Z. Pflanzenphysiol. 114, 295–308

    Google Scholar 

  • Sequeira, L. (1973) Hormone metabolism in diseased plants. Annu. Rev. Plant Physiol. 24, 353–380

    Google Scholar 

  • Stitt, M., Heldt, H.W. (1981) Physiological rates of starch breakdown in isolated intact spinach chloroplasts. Plant Physiol. 68, 755–761

    Google Scholar 

  • Sziraki, I., Balazs, E. (1975) The effect of infection by TMV on cytokinin level of tobacco plants, and cytokinins in TMV RNA. In: Current topics in plant pathology, pp. 345–352, Kiraly, Z., ed. Akademiai Kiado, Budapest

    Google Scholar 

  • Thalacker, R., Behrens, M. (1959) Über den Reinheitsgrad der in einem nichtwässrigen spezifischen Gewichtsgradienten gewonnemen Chloroplasten. Z. Naturforsch. 14b, 443–446

    Google Scholar 

  • Vernon, L.P. (1960) Spectrophotometric determination of chlorophylls and pheophytins in plant extracts. Anal. Chem. 32, 1144–1150

    Google Scholar 

  • Walton, D.C. (1980) Biochemistry and physiology of abscisic acid. Annu. Rev. Plant Physiol. 31, 453–489

    Google Scholar 

  • Werdan, K., Heldt, H.W. (1972) Accumulation of bicarbonate in intact chloroplasts following a pH gradient. Biochim. Biophys. Acta 283, 430–441

    Google Scholar 

  • Whenham, R.J. (1982) Abscisic acid metabolism in tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) infected with tobacco mosaic virus. Ph. D. thesis, University of Birmingham, UK

    Google Scholar 

  • Whenham, R.J., Fraser, R.S.S. (1981) Effect of systemic and local-lesion-forming strains of tobacco mosaic virus on abscisic acid concentration in tobacco leaves: consequences for the control of leaf growth. Physiol. Plant Pathol. 18, 267–278

    Google Scholar 

  • Whenham, R.J., Fraser, R.S.S., Snow, A. (1985) Tobacco mosaic virus-induced increase in abscisic acid concentration in tobacco leaves: intracellular location and relationship to symptom severity and to extent of virus multiplication. Physiol. Plant Pathol. 26, 379–387

    Google Scholar 

  • Wong, K.F., Davies, D.D. (1973) Regulation of phosphoenol-pyruvate carboxylase of Zea mays by metabolites. Biochem. J. 131, 451–458

    Google Scholar 

  • Wright, S.T.C., Hiron, R.W.P. (1969) (+)-Abscisic acid, the growth inhibitor induced in detached wheat leaves by a period of wilting. Nature 224, 719–720

    Google Scholar 

  • Zeevaart, J.A.D. (1980) Changes in the levels of abscisic acid and its metabolites in excised leaf blades of Xanthium strumarium during and after water stress. Plant Physiol. 66, 672–678

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Whenham, R.J., Fraser, R.S.S., Brown, L.P. et al. Tobacco-mosaic-virus-induced increase in abscisic-acid concentration in tobacco leaves:. Planta 168, 592–598 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00392281

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00392281

Key words

Navigation