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INVITED REVIEW Learning from halophytes: physiological basis and strategies to improve abiotic stress tolerance in crops
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TLDR
This review argues that learning from halophytes may be a promising way of achieving salinity tolerance in non-halophytes and what specific genes need to be targeted to achieve this goal.Abstract:
†Background Global annual losses in agricultural production from salt-affected land are in excess of US$12 billion and rising. At the same time, a significant amount of arable land is becoming lost to urban sprawl, forcing agricultural production into marginal areas. Consequently, there is a need for a major breakthrough in crop breeding for salinity tolerance. Given the limited range of genetic diversity in this trait within traditional crops, stress tolerance genes and mechanisms must be identified in extremophiles and then introduced into traditional crops. †ScopeandConclusions This review argues that learning from halophytes may be a promising way of achieving this goal. The paper is focused around two central questions: what are the key physiological mechanisms conferring salinity tolerance in halophytes that can be introduced into non-halophyte crop species to improve their performance under saline conditions and what specific genes need to be targeted to achieve this goal? The specific traits that are discussed and advocated include: manipulation of trichome shape, size and density to enable their use for external Na + sequestration; increasing the efficiency of internal Na + sequestration in vacuoles by the orchestrated regulation of tonoplast NHX exchangers and slow and fast vacuolar channels, combined with greater cytosolic K + retention; controlling stomata aperture and optimizing water use efficiency by reducing stomatal density; and efficient control of xylem ion loading, enabling rapid shoot osmotic adjustment while preventing prolonged Na + transportread more
Citations
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Journal ArticleDOI
Salinity tolerance of crops – what is the cost?
TL;DR: In this article, the authors consider mechanisms of adaptation and highlight recent research examples through a lens of their applicability to improving the energy efficiency of crops under saline field conditions, and highlight some recent examples.
Journal ArticleDOI
Phytohormones and plant responses to salinity stress: a review
Shah Fahad,Saddam Hussain,Amar Matloob,Faheem Ahmed Khan,Abdul Khaliq,Shah Saud,Shah Hassan,Darakh Shan,Fahad Khan,Najeeb Ullah,Muhammad Faiq,Muhammad Rafiullah Khan,Afrasiab Khan Tareen,Aziz Khan,Abid Ullah,Nasr Ullah,Jianliang Huang +16 more
TL;DR: Current progress is exemplified by the identification and validation of several significant genes that enhanced crops tolerance to salinity, while missing links on different aspects of phytohormone related salinity tolerance are pointed out.
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The Role of Na+ and K+ Transporters in Salt Stress Adaptation in Glycophytes.
TL;DR: It turns out that these transporters and channels are equally important for the adaptation of glycophytes as they are for halophytes, but differential gene expression, structural differences in the proteins and post-translational modifications account for the differences in tolerance between the two groups.
Journal ArticleDOI
Regulation of potassium transport in plants under hostile conditions: implications for abiotic and biotic stress tolerance.
TL;DR: It is argued that cytosolic K(+) content may be considered as one of the 'master switches' enabling plant transition from the normal metabolism to 'hibernated state' during first hours after the stress exposure and then to a recovery phase.
Journal ArticleDOI
Sodium chloride toxicity and the cellular basis of salt tolerance in halophytes
TL;DR: In this article, the authors discuss the evidence for Na+ and Cl− toxicity and the concept of tissue tolerance in relation to halophytes and suggest that halophyte tolerate cytoplasmic Na+/Cl− concentrations of 100-200mm.
References
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Book
The Mineral Nutrition of Higher Plants
M. H. Martin,H. Marschner +1 more
TL;DR: This chapter discusses the relationship between Mineral Nutrition and Plant Diseases and Pests, and the Soil-Root Interface (Rhizosphere) in Relation to Mineral Nutrition.
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Mineral Nutrition of Higher Plants
TL;DR: In this article, the authors discuss the relationship between mineral nutrition and plant diseases and pests, and diagnose deficiency and toxicity of mineral nutrients in leaves and other aerial parts of a plant.
Journal ArticleDOI
Mechanisms of salinity tolerance
Rana Munns,Mark Tester +1 more
TL;DR: The physiological and molecular mechanisms of tolerance to osmotic and ionic components of salinity stress are reviewed at the cellular, organ, and whole-plant level and the role of the HKT gene family in Na(+) exclusion from leaves is increasing.
Journal ArticleDOI
Comparative physiology of salt and water stress
TL;DR: It is important to avoid treatments that induce cell plasmolysis, and to design experiments that distinguish between tolerance of salt and tolerance of water stress, to understand the processes that give rise toolerance of salt, as distinct from tolerance of osmotic stress.