From Soil Amendments to Controlling Autophagy: Supporting Plant Metabolism under Conditions of Water Shortage and Salinity.

Crop resistance to environmental stress is a major issue. The globally increasing land degradation and desertification enhance the demand on management practices to balance both food and environmental objectives, including strategies that tighten nutrient cycles and maintain yields. Agriculture needs to provide, among other things, future additional ecosystem services, such as water quantity and quality, runoff control, soil fertility maintenance, carbon storage, climate regulation, and biodiversity.

Metabolic Pathway of Natural Antioxidants, Antioxidant Enzymes and ROS Providence.

Based on the origin, we can classify different types of stress. Environmental factors, such as high light intensity, adverse temperature, drought, or soil salinity, are summarized as abiotic stresses and discriminated from biotic stresses that are exerted by pathogens and herbivores, for instance. It was an unexpected observation that overproduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS) is a common response to all kinds of stress investigated so far.

Enhanced lipid and biomass production by a newly isolated and identified marine microalga.

Background: The increasing demand for microalgae lipids as an alternative to fish has encouraged researchers to explore oleaginous microalgae for food uses. In this context, optimization of growth and lipid production by the marine oleaginous V-strain-microalgae is of great interest as it contains large amounts of mono-unsaturated (MUFAs) and poly-unsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs).

Methods: In this study, the isolated V strain was identified based on 23S rRNA gene.

The influence of genes regulating transmembrane transport of Na on the salt resistance of Aeluropus lagopoides.

Plantlets of Aeluropus lagopoides (Linn.) Trin. Ex Thw.

The effect of hyper-osmotic salinity on protein pattern and enzyme activities of halophytes.

Studies of the convergence of the expression of enzymes and the physiology of salt resistance are rare, and give the general impression of a jigsaw puzzle with many missing pieces. To date, only minor responses of plasma membrane and tonoplast proteins of halophytes have been reported. Mostly, subunits of the catalytic portions of ATPases were found to change.

Putting halophytes to work - genetics, biochemistry and physiology.

Halophytes are a small group of plants able to tolerate saline soils whose salt concentrations can reach those found in ocean waters and beyond. Since most plants, including many of our crops, are unable to survive salt concentrations one sixth those in seawater (about 80mM NaCl), the tolerance of halophytes to salt has academic and economic importance. In 2009 the COST Action Putting halophytes to work - from genes to ecosystems was established and it was from contributions to a conference held at the Leibniz University, Hannover, Germany, in 2012 that this Special Issue has been produced.

Proteomic and physiological responses of the halophyte Cakile maritima to moderate salinity at the germinative and vegetative stages.

Responses of the halophyte Cakile maritima to moderate salinity were addressed at germination and vegetative stages by bringing together proteomics and eco-physiological approaches. 75 mM NaCl-salinity delayed significantly the germination process and decreased slightly the seed germination percentage compared to salt-free conditions. Monitoring the proteome profile between 0 h and 120 h after seed sowing revealed a delay in the degradation of seed storage proteins when germination took place under salinity, which may explain the slower germination rate observed.

Relationship between the photosynthetic activity and the performance of Cakile maritima after long-term salt treatment.

Cakile maritima is a halophyte with potential for ecological, economical and medicinal uses. We address here the impact of salinity on its growth, photosynthesis and seed quality. Whole plant growth rate and shoot development were stimulated at moderate salinity (100-200 mM NaCl) and inhibited at higher salt concentrations.

Aster tripolium L. and Sesuvium portulacastrum L.: two halophytes, two strategies to survive in saline habitats.

Aster tripolium L. (Dollart, Germany) and Sesuvium portulacastrum L. (Dakhla, Morocco) are potential halophytic vegetables, fodder plants, and ornamentals for re-vegetating saline land.