The influence of abscisic acid on the ethylene biosynthesis pathway in the functioning of the flower abscission zone in Lupinus luteus

Abstract

Flower abscission is a highly regulated developmental process activated in response to exogenous (e.g. changing environmental conditions) and endogenous stimuli (e.g. phytohormones). Ethylene (ET) and abscisic acid (ABA) are very effective stimulators of flower abortion in Lupinus luteus, which is a widely cultivated species in Poland, Australia and Mediterranean countries. In this paper, we show that artificial activation of abscission by flower removal caused an accumulation of ABA in the abscission zone (AZ). Moreover, the blocking of that phytohormone’s biosynthesis by NDGA (nordihydroguaiaretic acid) decreased the number of abscised flowers. However, the application of NBD – an inhibitor of ET action – reversed the stimulatory effect of ABA on flower abscission, indicating that ABA itself is not sufficient to turn on the organ separation. Our analysis revealed that exogenous ABA significantly accelerated the transcriptional activity of the ET biosynthesis genes ACC synthase (LlACS) and oxidase (LlACO), and moreover, strongly increased the level of 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) – ET precursor, which was specifically localized within AZ cells. We cannot exclude the possibility that ABA mediates flower abscission processes by enhancing the ET biosynthesis rate. The findings of our study will contribute to the overall basic knowledge on the phytohormone-regulated generative organs abscission in L. luteus.