The Biochemical Mechanisms of Salt Tolerance in Plants

Abstract

Salinity is one of the most severe environmental problems worldwide and affects plant growth, reproduction, and crop yields by inducing physiological and biochemical changes due to osmotic and ionic shifts in plant cells. One of the principal modifications caused by osmotic stress is the accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which cause membrane damage and alter proteins, DNA structures, and photosynthetic processes. In response, plants increase their arsenal of antioxidant compounds, such as ROS scavenging enzymes and nonenzymatic elements like ascorbate, glutathione, flavonoids, tocopherols, and carotenoids, and their rates of osmolyte synthesis to conserve ion homeostasis and manage salt stress. This chapter describes the principal biochemical mechanisms that are employed by plants to survive under salt-stress conditions, including the most recent research regarding plant tolerance, and suggests strategies to produce valuable crops that are able to deal with soil salinity.

Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles Improve Salt Tolerance in Rice Seedlings by Improving Physiological and Biochemical Indices

“…Salinity directly affects the chloroplast structure and denatures their membrane and the rate of photosynthesis, which results in low grain formation and poor yield [56,99]. Furthermore, salinity stress alters the function of stomata by reducing their structure, process, and density [100]. This alteration reduces the rate of CO 2 uptake, decreases the photosynthesis rate, and the number of chloroplasts that damage the grana and thylakoid membrane directly hit the photosynthetic pigment-protein machinery of photosynthesis [101][102][103][104].…”

Impact of Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles on Seed Germination Characteristics in Rice (<i>Oryza Sativa</i> L.) Under Salinity Stress

“…•− ), hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) produced in different subcellular components, e.g., cell walls, peroxisomes, chloroplasts, endoplasmic reticulum, mitochondria, plasma membranes, and apoplasts region (Das and Roychoudhury, 2014;Massange-Sánchez et al, 2021;Mittler, 2002;Sharma et al, 2012).…”