Alleviation of Salt Stress in Common Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) by Exogenous Abscisic Acid Supply

• Published in: Journal of plant growth regulation Vol. 25; no. 2; pp. 110 - 119
• Main Authors: Khadri, M, Tejera, N.A, Lluch, C
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer Nature B.V 01.06.2006
• Subjects: Abscisic acid; Acetylene reduction; ammonia; Ammonium; Bacteria; Beans; developmental stages; dose response; enzyme activity; metabolism; Nitrogen fixation; nitrogenase; Phaseolus vulgaris; plant growth; purines; root nodules; salinity; salt stress; salt tolerance; Sodium chloride; Symbiosis
• ISSN: 0721-7595; 1435-8107
• DOI: 10.1007/s00344-005-0004-3

In this work the effect of abscisic acid (ABA) and 100 mM NaCl on common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris var. Coco) growth, nitrogenase activity, and nodule metabolism was studied. Experiments were carried out in a controlled environmental chamber and plants, at the vegetative growth stage (16 days old), were treated with ABA (1 μM and 10 μM) and 48 h later were exposed to saline treatment. Results revealed that plant dry weight, nodule dry weight, nitrogen fixation (acetylene reduction activity and ureides content), and most enzymes of ammonium and ureides metabolism were affected by both ABA and NaCl. The addition of 1 μM ABA to the nutrient solution before the exposure to salt stress reduced the negative effect of NaCl. Based on our results, we suggest that ABA application improves the response of Phaseolus vulgaris symbiosis under saline stress conditions, including the nitrogen fixation process and enzymes of ammonium assimilation and purine catabolism.