Compartmentation and Equilibration of Abscisic Acid in Isolated Xanthium Cells

The compartmentation of endogenous abscisic acid (ABA), applied (+/-)-[(3)H]ABA, and (+/-)-trans-ABA was measured in isolated mesophyll cells of the Chicago strain of Xanthium strumarium L. The release of ABA to the medium in the presence or absence of DMSO was used to determine the equilibration of ABA in the cells. It was found that a greater percentage of the (+/-)-[(3)H]ABA and the (+/-)-trans-ABA was released into the medium than of the endogenous ABA, indicating that applied ABA did not equilibrate with the endogenous material.Therefore, in further investigations only the compartmentation of endogenous ABA was studied. Endogenous ABA was released from Xanthium cells according to the pH gradients among the various cellular compartments. Thus, darkness, high external pH, KNO(2), and droughtstress all increased the efflux of ABA from the cells. Efflux of ABA from the cells in the presence of 0.6 m mannitol occurred within 30 seconds, but only 8% of the endogenous material was released during the 20 minute treatment.