Effects of abscisic acid (ABA) on the development of selected bryophyte species

The effects of the universal signal molecule, abscisic acid (ABA), with limited knowledge functions in non-tracheophyte have been studied in three selected bryophyte species: two mosses, Physcomitrella patens and Atrichum undulatum, and one liverwort, Marchantia polymorpha. While vegetative development as well as total chlorophyll and carotenoid contents tended to decrease in the three bryophyte species with increasing exogenous ABA concentration, the effect on total biomass showed less clear patterns in the bryophytes tested. These differences in response to ABA likely reflect different adaptations of these three species to conditions in situ.
JGS - M was supported by a Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation “Ramón y Cajal” postdoctoral contract.