Applicability of abscisic acid and (or) proline accumulation as selection criteria for drought tolerance in Nicotiana tabacum

The efficacy of various aspects of abscisic acid and proline accumulation as potential selection parameters for drought tolerance in tobacco was evaluated under controlled conditions. The results indicated that both abscisic acid (though being less pronounced) and proline accumulate rapidly after a distinct threshold leaf water potential value has been reached and that probably because of their higher cell wall elasticity (0.23 and 0.28 MPa for the drought-tolerant cultivars GS46 and Elsoma, respectively, compared with 0.39 and 0.31 MPa for the drought-sensitive cultivars TL33 and CDL28, respectively) these threshold leaf water potential values are reached sooner in drought-tolerant cultivars. However, abscisic acid accumulation precedes proline accumulation in both the drought-tolerant and drought-sensitive cultivars. Proline concentrations increased sharply at a leaf water potential of ca. −1.27 MPa in the drought-tolerant cultivars and at a leaf water potential of ca. −1.50 MPa in the drought-sensitive cultivars. At a leaf water potential of −0.77 MPa the abscisic acid concentrations of all four cultivars were already significantly higher than those of their respective controls and were greater in the drought-tolerant cultivars. The leaf water potential value at which abscisic acid and proline start accumulating rapidly and the accumulated proline end concentrations are recommended as selection parameters for drought tolerance in tobacco. Key words: abscisic acid accumulation, cell-wall elasticity, drought stress, Nicotiana tabacum L., proline accumulation, selection parameters.