Mechanisms of Salt Tolerance and Molecular Breeding of Salt-Tolerant Ornamental Plants.

As the area of salinized soils increases, and freshwater becomes more scarcer worldwide, an urgent measure for agricultural production is to use salinized land and conserve freshwater resources. Ornamental flowering plants, such as carnations, roses, chrysanthemums, and gerberas, are found around the world and have high economic, ornamental, ecological, and edible value. It is therefore prudent to improve the salt tolerance of these important horticultural crops.

Current Understanding of bHLH Transcription Factors in Plant Abiotic Stress Tolerance.

Named for the characteristic basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) region in their protein structure, bHLH proteins are a widespread transcription factor class in eukaryotes. bHLHs transcriptionally regulate their target genes by binding to specific positions on their promoters and thereby direct a variety of plant developmental and metabolic processes, such as photomorphogenesis, flowering induction, shade avoidance, and secondary metabolite biosynthesis, which are important for promoting plant tolerance or adaptation to adverse environments. In this review, we discuss the vital roles of bHLHs in plant responses to abiotic stresses, such as drought, salinity, cold, and iron deficiency.

Cation and Zn Accumulation in Brown Seeds of the Euhalophyte Improves Germination Under Saline Conditions.

Salinity inhibits plant growth due to salt ion accumulation in plant cells and reduced absorption of other nutrients such as metal ions; however halophyte plants have evolved mechanisms to survive and thrive in high-salt conditions. The euhalophyte generates dimorphic seeds (black and brown), which show marked differences in germination and seedling growth under high-salt conditions. However, it is unclear whether their ionic status differs.

Exposure to High Salinity During Seed Development Markedly Enhances Seedling Emergence and Fitness of the Progeny of the Extreme Halophyte .

Irrigation with 200 mM NaCl significantly increases vegetative and reproductive growth of the extreme halophyte . However, little is known about how the progeny of plants grown under a continuous NaCl supply behave in terms of growth and seed set parameters. We investigated various plant growth and reproductive parameters of the progeny that germinated from seeds harvested from mother plants grown under 0 or 200 mM NaCl over three generations.