Accumulation of endogenous salicylic acid confers drought tolerance to Arabidopsis

We investigated stomatal phenotype and drought tolerance of Arabidopsis salicylic acid-accumulating mutants, acd6 and cpr5. In these mutants, the light-induced stomatal opening was impaired and the impairment of stomatal opening was restored by peroxidase inhibitors, salicylhydroxamic acid and azide. The acd6 and cpr5 mutant plants were more tolerant to drought stress than wild-type plants. Introduction of nahG gene into the acd6 and cpr5 mutants prevented the inhibition of stomatal opening and reduced the drought tolerance. Drought tolerance-related genes were more highly expressed in the cpr5 and acd6 mutant plants than in the wild-type plants. These results suggest that accumulation of salicylic acid improves drought tolerance through inhibition of light-induced stomatal opening in Arabidopsis.