Investigation of Na+ and K+ Transport in Halophytes: Functional Analysis of the HmHKT2;1 Transporter from Hordeum maritimum and Expression under Saline Conditions.

Control of K+ and Na+ transport plays a central role in plant adaptation to salinity. In the halophyte Hordeum maritimum, we have characterized a transporter gene, named HmHKT2;1, whose homolog HvHKT2;1 in cultivated barley, Hordeum vulgare, was known to give rise to increased salt tolerance when overexpressed. The encoded protein is strictly identical in two H.