Characterization of a cDNA from Arabidopsis thaliana encoding a potential thiol protease whose expression is induced independently by wilting and abscisic acid.

The sequence and expression characteristics are described of a wilt-inducible gene in Arabidopsis thaliana. A1494 encodes a potential thiol protease whose mRNA accumulates rapidly in shoot tissue upon the loss of turgor. A1494 mRNA levels peaked after ca. 4 h and declined thereafter. Dehydration also induced rapid biosynthesis of the phytohormone abscisic acid (ABA), which continued for at least 9 h. Exogenous ABA induced the accumulation of A1494 mRNA, with kinetics similar to those after wilting. Rehydration of wilted shoots led to a rapid decline in the content of both ABA and A1494 mRNA. Wilting and ABA independently induced A1494 expression as evidenced by the effects of ABA and wilting on the ABA-deficient aba-1 and ABA-insensitive abi-1 and abi-3 genotypes. A1494 mRNA was not detectable in aba-1 shoots but accumulated rapidly after either wilting or ABA treatment, whereas the shoot ABA content was increased only by ABA treatment. ABA had no effect on A1494 mRNA levels in the abi-1 and abi-3 mutants but wilting did result in enhanced A1494 expression. Heat shock had only a minor effect on A1494 mRNA levels, whereas exposure to low temperature resulted in substantial accumulation of A1494 mRNA in wild-type shoots. However, this latter response, unlike that to drought, was mediated exclusively via ABA synthesis as demonstrated by the lack of A1494 mRNA accumulation in cold-treated aba-1 shoots.