Sodium chloride improves seed vigour of the euhalophyte Suaeda salsa

Abstract

Suaeda salsa is an annual herbaceous euhalophyte in the family Chenopodiaceae that produces dimorphic seeds on the same plant under natural conditions. In order to determine the effect of salinity on seed quality traits during seed formation, seeds from plants grown under control conditions and on 200 mM NaCl were used to investigate the effect of NaCl on seed production and seed germination. Results showed that size and weight of both black and brown seeds generated from 200 mM NaCl-treated plants were markedly greater than those from controls. The germination percentage of brown seeds from both control and NaCl-treated plants was higher than that of black seeds. Furthermore, the germination percentage of the black seeds generated from 200 mM NaCl-treated plants was significantly higher than that of the control at different concentrations of NaCl, although germination percentage declined with the increase NaCl concentration. Surprisingly, NaCl did not affect germination of the brown seeds. The germination index and vigour index of both black and brown seeds from the control plants were significantly lower than those of seeds from the different NaCl treatments. Seed starch, soluble sugar, protein and lipid content of both black and brown seeds generated from the 200 mM NaCl-treated plants were significantly higher than those from the control. These results suggest that a certain concentration of NaCl plays a pivotal role in seed vitality of the euhalophyte S. salsa through increasing seed weight and contents of storage compounds such as protein, starch and fatty acids.

Molecular mechanisms underlying stress response and adaptation

“…In this review we have summarized multiple regulatory processes that contribute to the response and adaptation to various stresses. Adaptation to salt stress can be induced by NaCl exposure, 26,73,148 and include the formation of specialized structures, [29][30][31][32][33][98][99][100][101]108 and changes in physiology and gene expression profiles. 28,71,72,80,120,127,132 Induction makes plants more adaptive to salt tolerance as they complement each other.…”

“…A series of Suaeda salsa genes important for salt tolerance have been identified, including SsNHX1 , SsHKT1 , SsAPX , SsCAT1 , SsCHLAPXs , SsP5CS , and SsBADH . Specific NaCl concentrations have been shown to improve Suaeda salsa seed vitality by increasing seed weight and levels of stored protein, starch, and fatty acids . In the related organism, Suaeda physophora , cotyledons play an important role in seedling establishment by generating oxygen and compartmentalizing Na + under salt stress .…”

“…25,[70][71][72] Specific NaCl concentrations have been shown to improve Suaeda salsa seed vitality by increasing seed weight and levels of stored protein, starch, and fatty acids. 26,[73][74][75][76][77] In the related organism, Suaeda physophora, cotyledons play an important role in seedling establishment by generating oxygen and compartmentalizing Na + under salt stress. 78,79 Based on research of salt-tolerance mechanisms in Suaeda salsa, overexpression of the related genes in tobacco 80,81 and Arabidopsis thaliana can increase salt tolerance.…”

Cell Cycle Regulation in the Plant Response to Stress

“…Interestingly, there exists a group of salt-tolerant plants which grow in highly saline soil or water called halophyte Zhao et al, 2011;. An example of a halophyte is Suaeda salsa Cheng et al, 2014;Guo et al, 2015;Guo et al, 2018), which produces dimorphic seeds on the same plant, brown seeds but not black seeds are able to germinate under conditions of high salinity owing to the presence of a seed coat Song et al, 2016;Xu et al, 2016;Song et al, 2017). In this species, ion transport signaling contributes to salt tolerance through the action of various genes including HIGH-AFFINITY POTASSIUM TRANSPORTER (SsHKT)1 (Shao et al, 2014), SODIUM/ HYDROGEN EXCHANGER (SsNHX)1 , and ASCORBATE PEROXIDASE (SsAPX) (Song and Wang, 2015).…”

Lodging markedly reduced the biomass of sweet sorghum via decreasing photosynthesis in saline-alkali field

“…Nearly 10% of the soils were affected by salt in the world and there are 50% in irrigated land [1,2]. Furthermore, the seedling growth and the yield of salt sensitive crops were significantly inhibited when grown in such environments [3], while the salt-tolerant plants could grow well in such conditions [4], and salt-tolerant crops cultivated in saline-alkali soils could be considered as the most economical and effective way to use and improve saline-alkali land.…”