Mode of Action of Abscisic Acid in Barley Aleurone Layers

As part of a continuing effort to elucidate the mode of action of abscisic acid (ABA) in barley (Hordeum vulgare L. cv Himalaya) aleurone layers, we have investigated the induction of several polypeptides by ABA in this tissue. There were nine ABA-induced polypeptides as observed by one-dimensional sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, and considerably more (at least 16 spots) on a two-dimensional gel. These proteins started to show enhanced synthesis 2 to 4 hours after ABA treatment, and their synthesis continued for at least 48 hours. In vitro translation using total RNA isolated from ABA-treated aleurone layers indicated that translatable mRNA levels of these proteins essentially paralleled the levels of in vivo synthesized proteins. The most abundant of the ABA-induced proteins was a 29 kilodalton polypeptide which was also synthesized in tissue incubated without ABA. In vivo synthesis of this protein declined as ABA concentration was decreased, with 1 nanomolar ABA approaching control level. Cell fractionation experiments located the 29 kilodalton major ABA-induced protein in 1,000g and 13,000g pellets; most other induced proteins were in the 80,000g supernatant. The 29 kilodalton protein appeared to be sensitive to degradation by sulfhydryl type proteases. As expected, the induction of these proteins by ABA was suppressed by gibberellic acid. Phaseic acid, the first stable metabolite of ABA, suppressed the gibberellic acid-enhanced alpha-amylase synthesis but was unable to induce the ABA-induced proteins. None of the ABA-induced proteins were secreted into the incubation medium. A 36 kilodalton ABA-induced protein showed cross-reactivity with antibody against a barley lectin specific for glucosamine, galactosamine, and mannosamine.