Changes in chloride fluxes and cytosolic pH induced by abscisic acid in Elodea densa leaves

The effects of ABA on intracellular pH, net H+ extrusion, Cl- fluxes and E(m) values were studied in Elodea densa leaves, and the possible relationships between the ABA-induced changes of cytosolic pH and of Cl- and H+ fluxes were investigated. Cytosolic and vacuolar pH were calculated by the weak acid and weak base distribution method. The data show that, also in this material (a water plant without stomata), ABA induces a decrease in both net H+ extrusion and intracellular pH, and strongly inhibits Cl- efflux. No significant effect of ABA is detectable on E(m) values, either at short or long intervals in the presence or absence of K+. Cl- efflux is apparently independent of the activity of the plasmalemma HC pump and of the E(m) values. Conversely, it strongly depends on the value of cytosolic pH, a larger efflux occurring for the lower pH values both in the presence and in the absence of ABA. These results indicate that the ABA-induced cytosolic acidification cannot be the cause but, possibly, a consequence of the decrease in Cl- efflux, and are consistent with the hypothesis of a primary role of ABA in regulating Cl- efflux, presumably by directly affecting a class of Cl--permeable channels.