abscisic acid

[ab-sis-ik, -siz-]

noun

Biochemistry.

1. a growth-regulating plant hormone, C 15 H 20 O 4 , that promotes dormancy and the aging and abscission of leaves.

abscisic acid

1. A plant hormone that maintains the water balance of plants, prevents seed embryos from germinating, and induces the dormancy of buds and seeds. Chemical formula: C ₁₅ H ₂₀ O ₄.

Word History and Origins

Origin of abscisic acid¹

abscis(sion) + -ic, on the model of the earlier name abscisin ( -in ² ), coined in 1961

Example Sentences

The engineering process begins with a protein called abscisic acid, or ABA, that helps plants acclimate to stressful changes in the environment.

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Not abscisic acid, the one that “abscission zone” would seem to imply.

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Evergreens don’t lose their foliage, but they do crank up production of abscisic acid, or ABA, the hormone that triggers leaf fall in deciduous trees.

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It is produced in an extracellular space between the plasma membrane and cell wall called the apoplast, in response to a range of factors, including stressors, plant hormones such as abscisic acid, and physical or chemical changes outside the cell1.

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The older trees had lower levels of a growth hormone called indole-3-acetic acid and higher levels of a growth-inhibiting hormone called abscisic acid.

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