This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via CrossRef Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Myers, P. N. Articles by Thompson, J. F. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Myers, P. N. Articles by Thompson, J. F. Agricola Articles by Myers, P. N. Articles by Thompson, J. F.

Environmental and Stress Physiology

Abscisic Acid Inhibition of Endosperm Cell Division in Cultured Maize Kernels ¹

Department of Soil, Crop and Atmospheric Sciences, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, U.S. Plant, Soil and Nutrition Laboratory, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Ithaca, New York 14853

The response of developing maize (Zea mays L.) endosperm to elevated levels of abscisic acid (ABA) was investigated. Maize kernels and subtending cob sections were excised at 5 days after pollination (DAP) and placed in culture with or without 90 micromolar (±)-ABA in the medium. A decreased number of cells per endosperm was observed at 10 DAP (and later sampling times) in kernels cultured in medium containing ABA from 5 DAP, and in kernels transferred at 8 DAP to medium containing ABA, but not in kernels transferred at 11 DAP to medium containing ABA. The number of starch granules per endosperm was decreased in some treatments, but the reduction, when apparent, was comparable to the decreased number of endosperm cells. The effect on endosperm fresh weight was slight, transient, and appeared to be secondary to the effect on cell number. Mature endosperm dry weight was reduced when kernels were cultured continuously in medium containing ABA. Endosperm (+)-ABA content of kernels cultured in 0, 3, 10, 30, 100, or 300 micromolar (±)-ABA was measured at 10 DAP by indirect ELISA using a monoclonal antibody. Content of (+)-ABA in endosperms correlated negatively (R = –0.92) with endosperm cell number. On the basis of these studies we propose that during early kernel development, elevated levels of ABA decrease the rate of cell division in maize endosperm which, in turn, could limit the storage capacity of the kernel.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				J. Yang, J. Zhang, Z. Wang, K. Liu, and P. Wang Post-anthesis development of inferior and superior spikelets in rice in relation to abscisic acid and ethylene J. Exp. Bot., January 1, 2006; 57(1): 149 - 160. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				F. LIU, C. R. JENSEN, and M. N. ANDERSEN Pod Set Related to Photosynthetic Rate and Endogenous ABA in Soybeans Subjected to Different Water Regimes and Exogenous ABA and BA at Early Reproductive Stages Ann. Bot., September 1, 2004; 94(3): 405 - 411. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				Z. WANG, S. MAMBELLI, and T. L. SETTER Abscisic Acid Catabolism in Maize Kernels in Response to Water Deficit at Early Endosperm Development Ann. Bot., November 1, 2002; 90(5): 623 - 630. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				B. P. Dilkes, R. A. Dante, C. Coelho, and B. A. Larkins Genetic Analyses of Endoreduplication in Zea mays Endosperm: Evidence of Sporophytic and Zygotic Maternal Control Genetics, March 1, 2002; 160(3): 1163 - 1177. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				T. L. Setter, B. A. Flannigan, and J. Melkonian Loss of Kernel Set Due to Water Deficit and Shade in Maize: Carbohydrate Supplies, Abscisic Acid, and Cytokinins Crop Sci., September 1, 2001; 41(5): 1530 - 1540. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				B. A. Larkins, B. P. Dilkes, R. A. Dante, C. M. Coelho, Y.-m. Woo, and Y. Liu Investigating the hows and whys of DNA endoreduplication J. Exp. Bot., February 1, 2001; 52(355): 183 - 192. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]