Does an antagonistic relationship between ABA and ethylene mediate shoot growth when tomato ( Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) plants encounter compacted soil?

This study tested the hypothesis that antagonistic interactions between abscisic acid (ABA) and ethylene mediate the effects of soil compaction on shoot growth. Isogenic wild‐type (Ailsa Craig), ABA‐deficient ( notabilis ) and a transgenic (ACO1 AS ) tomato genotype with a reduced capacity to synthesize ethylene were examined. Exogenous ABA was also applied. Leaf area was comparable when Ailsa Craig and ACO1 AS were grown in uncompacted (1·1 g cm − 3 ) or compacted (1·5 g cm − 3 ) soil, but was lower in notabilis . However, a 1·1/1·5 g cm − 3 split‐pot treatment invoked marked genotypic differences, whereby leaf area was comparable to 1·1 g cm − 3 control plants in ACO1 AS but was intermediate between the 1·1 and 1·5 g cm − 3 treatments in Ailsa Craig and notabilis . ABA may be discounted as the root‐sourced signal responsible for reducing leaf area when the roots encountered compacted soil as Ailsa Craig and ACO1 AS showed differing responses despite similar increases in xylem sap ABA concentration; leaf area was invariably lower in notabilis . These genotypic differences were correlated with ethylene evolution; thus the greater leaf area in ACO1 AS was associated with its reduced ability to synthesize ethylene, whereas the reductions in leaf expansion observed when Ailsa Craig and notabilis encountered compacted soil were accompanied by increased ethylene production. Application of ABA had little effect on ACO1 AS , but promoted a recovery of leaf expansion in notabilis , and more surprisingly in Ailsa Craig. These results suggest that antagonistic interactions between ABA and ethylene may regulate leaf expansion when the root system simultaneously encounters uncompacted and compacted soil.