Investigation into the Physiological Significance of the Phytohormone Abscisic Acid in Perkinsus marinus, an Oyster Parasite Harboring a Nonphotosynthetic Plastid

Some organisms have retained plastids even after they have lost the ability to photosynthesize. Several studies of nonphotosynthetic plastids in apicomplexan parasites have shown that the isopentenyl pyrophosphate biosynthesis pathway in the organelle is essential for their survival. A phytohormone, abscisic acid, one of several compounds biosynthesized from isopentenyl pyrophosphate, regulates the parasite cell cycle. Thus, it is possible that the phytohormone is universally crucial, even in nonphotosynthetic plastids. Here, we examined this possibility using the oyster parasite Perkinsus marinus, which is a plastid-harboring cousin of apicomplexan parasites and has independently lost photosynthetic ability. Fluridone, an inhibitor of abscisic acid biosynthesis, blocked parasite growth and induced cell clustering. Nevertheless, abscisic acid and its intermediate carotenoids did not affect parasite growth or rescue the parasite from inhibition. Moreover, abscisic acid was not detected from the parasite using liquid chromatography mass spectrometry. Our findings show that abscisic acid does not play any significant roles in P. marinus.