“…This tolerance has been earlier attributed to a smaller leaf biomass combined with reduced stomatal density , both of which would contribute to reduced transpiration under saline stress (James et al, 2002). Salt stress tolerance of GEN plants was also documented by Tarchoune et al (2013), who reported no change in shoot fresh weight after 15 days of 50 mM NaCl treatment. The reduction of leaf area, along with the decrease of SLA in salt-treated plants was already visible in the first stages of stress at 13 DAST (Table 1), confirming that the reduction of cell expansion and cell division is an early response to salt stress (Munns, 2002;Ruggiero et al, 2004).…”