Salt Tolerance in the Wild Relatives of the Cultivated Tomato: Responses of Lycopersicon esculentum, L. cheesmanii, L. peruvianum, Solanum pennellii and F1 Hybrids to High Salinity

Abstract

The performance of three wild relatives of the cultivated tomato (Lycopersicon cheesmanii, L. peruvianum and Solanum pennellii) and two tomato cultivars in control and saline media was compared. The parameters studied were elongation rate of the main stem, succulence, and accumulation of Na+, K+, and C 1 in the roots, stem, leaf, and shoot tip. The same parameters but in the leaf only were also studied comparatively in two of the wild species L. cheesmanii and S. pennellii, the same two cultivars, and F, hybrids.Under control conditions, the elongation rate of the stem of the two cultivars was higher than that of the wild plants, but under salinity it was relatively lower. Among all species, S. pennellii was the most succulent in all its major parts under both control and saline conditions. The wild species, especially S. pennellii, showed high accumulation of Na+ in the leaf and top and a greater decrease in K+ content under salinity as compared with the cultivated plants. In all three species, Na+ probably substitutes for potassium in, at least, some of its physiological functions.Complete dominance of S. pennellii over the cultivated plants is indicated for the relative decrease of elongation rate and K+ level and for the increase of succulence under salinity. In contrast, L. cheesmanii seems to be completely dominant only for the relative decrease of K+ under salinity.0310-7841/83/010109$02.00 Volume 9, Number 4Comparison between osmotic and hydrostatic water flows in a higher plant cell: determination of hydraulic conductivities and reflection coefficients in isolated epidermis of Tradescantia virginiana.

High salt tolerance potential in Lycopersicon species during germination

“…Wide differences were found and an accession of L. peruvianum was the most salt-tolerant. Since then, variation for salt tolerance has been demonstrated within the following species: L.cheesmanii RILEY (RUSH& EPSTEIN, 1976;TAL& SHANNON, 1983), L. peruvianum MILL. (TAL & GAVISH, 1973;TAL & SHANNON, 1983), and L. penneliii COR.…”

Genetics of Salt and Cold Tolerance in Tomato: Quantitative Analysis and QTL Mapping.

“…Regardless of the cause (ion toxicity, water deficit and/or nutrient ion imbalance), salt stress severely impedes normal plant growth and development, resulting in reduced crop productivity or total crop loss. In tomato, potential sources of salt tolerance during vegetative growth have been identified among the related wild species and primitive cultivars [7,[35][36][37]. These genetic resources could potentially be utilized to enhance salt tolerance of modern cultivars.…”

Tomato Molecular Markers

“…LA722. Salt tolerant species (L. pennellii, L. peruvianum, L. cheesmanii) are able to accumulate more potassium and sodium ions than sensitive species (Rush & Epstein 1981, Tal & Shannon 1983. Zamir & Tal (1987) using isoenzymatic markers identified four loci associated with the uptake of Na + and Cl -(enzymes Prx-1, Prx-2, Tpi-2, Pgm-2, Aco-1) and two loci responsible for uptake of K + (enzymes Asp-1, Got-2).…”

“…Castro et al (2007) developed a CAPS marker JB-1 associated with the Ty-1 gene and this marker is useful in MAS to identify resistant plant. (Table 2) Zamir et al 1987;Rush et al 1981;Tal et al 1983Drought QTL RFLP 1, 9, 8, 12 Foolad et al 2003 Current world agricultural production is largely limited by environmental stresses (Boyer 1982). It is estimated that only 10% of the world's arable land may be free of stress (Dudal 1976).…”