INTRODUCTION: Bioassay (commonly used shorthand for biological assay), or biological standardization is a type of scientific experiment.

Bioassays are typically conducted to measure the effects of a substance on a living organism and are essential in the development of new drugs and in monitoring environmental pollutants. Both are procedures by which the potency or the nature of a substance is estimated by studying its effects on living matter. Read more: http://www.answers.com/topic/bioassay#ixzz1auVxrOtM

The Bioassay of ABA

Coleoptile growth, the classic bioassay devised for auxins (see textbook Chapter 19), is also used for ABA detection in plant extracts by measurement of coleoptile growth inhibition. This bioassay has adequate sensitivity (minimum detectable level is 107 M) and shows a linear response in the range of 107 to 105 M, but it has some disadvantages. Plant extracts have other promoters and inhibitors, which decrease the specificity of the bioassay and make preliminary purification steps necessary. Other available bioassays for ABA include inhibition of germination, inhibition of gibberellic acid induced -amylase synthesis in cereal aleurone layers, induction of leaf abscission, and stomatal closure. Stomatal closure is highly specific for ABA because it is affected little by other plant growth regulators. Additional advantages of this bioassay include a fast response of guard cells to ABA, high sensitivity (minimum detectable level 109 M), and a linear response over a wide range of concentrations.
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