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Leaf Cell Water and Enzyme Activity

Department of Biology and the Research and Development Authority, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel

This work supports further the thesis that under conditions of water stress, cell water content may supersede hormonal regulation in effecting enzyme activity, thus becoming a regulatory factor in cellular metabolism. Addition of NaCl to the root medium of barley plants (Hordeum vulgare L.) markedly increased leaf RNase activity parallel to an increase of leaf water saturation deficit (WSD). Kinetin and abscisic acid, applied to the salinated plants, also modified RNase activity, as well as leaf-WSD. The familiar pattern of effects of these hormones on leaf RNase as well as leaf chlorophyll content was inverted, kinetin effected a relative increase in RNase activity and a decrease in leaf chlorophyll, whereas abscisic acid effected a relative decrease in RNase activity and maintained chlorophyll content. A close relationship between enzyme activity and leaf WSD became evident when leaf RNase and protease activities in the salinated plants were plotted against leaf WSD. This close relationship was maintained irrespective of the hormonal treatments, which in themselves markedly modified leaf WSD. As predicted, high relative humidity which relived the leaves from salt-induced water stress prevented the salt-induced rise in RNase activity.