The Sustainable Use of Halophytes in Salt-Affected Land: State-of-the-Art and Next Steps in a Saltier World.

Salinization is a major cause of soil degradation that affects several million hectares of agricultural land, threatening food security and the sustainability of agricultural systems worldwide. Nevertheless, despite the negative impact of salinity, salt-affected land also provides several important ecosystem services, from providing habitats and nurseries for numerous species to sustainable food production. This opinion paper, written in the framework of the EU COST Action CA22144 SUSTAIN on the sustainable use of salt-affected land, therefore, focuses on the potential of halophytes and saline agriculture to transform and restore key functions of these salt-affected and marginal lands.

Harnessing the Bioactive Potential of (Desf.) Kuntze: Insights into Enzyme Inhibition and Phytochemical Profile.

This study assessed the halophyte species (Desf.) as a possible source of natural ingredients with the capacity to inhibit enzymes related to relevant human health disorders and food browning. Extracts using food-grade solvents such as water and ethanol were prepared by maceration from dried leaves.

Early Physiological, Cytological and Antioxidative Responses of the Edible Halophyte Exposed to Salt Stress.

Quinoa ( Willd.) is a plant of South American origin recently valorized for its nutritional and nutraceutical properties in human diet. Quinoa is cultivated in many parts of the world, with a selection of varieties with good adaptability to extreme climatic conditions and salt stress.

Application of Plant Tissue Culture Techniques to Halophyte Species: A Review.

Halophytes are plants able to thrive in environments characterized by severe abiotic conditions, including high salinity and high light intensity, drought/flooding, and temperature fluctuations. Several species have ethnomedicinal uses, and some are currently explored as sources of food and cosmetic ingredients. Halophytes are considered important alternative cash crops to be used in sustainable saline production systems, due to their ability to grow in saline conditions where conventional glycophyte crops cannot, such as salt-affected soils and saline irrigation water.

Nutritional anti-nutritional chemical composition and antioxidant activities of the leaves of the sea cliff dwelling species (Desf.) Kuntze.

This work explored the nutritional and antioxidant properties of the leaves of the halophytic species (Desf.) Kuntze from Tunisian sea cliffs. Furthermore, the analysis of the total phenolics and flavonoids contents and their individual compounds using high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (HPLC-ESI-MS/MS) were also studied.

Nutraceutical Potential of Leaf Hydro-Ethanolic Extract of the Edible Halophyte L.

Aromatic halophytes represent an exceptional source of natural bioactive compounds for the food industry. L., also known as sea fennel, is a halophyte plant colonizing cliffs and coastal dunes along Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts.

Application of Trehalose and Salicylic Acid Mitigates Drought Stress in Sweet Basil and Improves Plant Growth.

Trehalose (Tre) and salicylic acid (SA) are increasingly used to mitigate drought stress in crop plants. In this study, a pot experiment was performed to study the influence of Tre and SA applied individually or in combination on the growth, photosynthesis, and antioxidant responses of sweet basil ( L.) exposed to drought stress.

Phytochemical and Biological Activities in Limonium Species Collected in Different Biotopes of Tunisia.

A particular interest is nowadays given to natural antioxidants occurring in foods which can reduce the risk of several diseases through their protective effect. The genus Limonium is widely distributed in different salt regions of Tunisia and known in traditional medicine for the presence of highly effective viral and bacterial replication inhibitors. Limonium leaves have possible beneficial effects on human health for their antioxidant activities and free radical scavenging abilities.

A re-circulating horizontal flow constructed wetland for the treatment of synthetic azo dye at high concentrations.

A re-circulating horizontal flow constructed wetland (RHFCW) system was developed in a greenhouse. This system was operated with Typha domingensis to study the phytoremediation capacity of this macrophyte species in different developing stages for synthetic textile wastewater with the pollutant type, the amaranth (AM) azo dye. Experiments were applied with a fixed flow rate Q = 10 L/h corresponding to a theoretical residence time of 3 h.

A stress-associated protein, LmSAP, from the halophyte Lobularia maritima provides tolerance to heavy metals in tobacco through increased ROS scavenging and metal detoxification processes.

Agricultural soil pollution by heavy metals is a severe global ecological problem. We recently showed that overexpression of LmSAP, a member of the stress-associated protein (SAP) gene family isolated from Lobularia maritima, in transgenic tobacco led to enhanced tolerance to abiotic stress. In this study, we characterised the response of LmSAP transgenic tobacco plants to metal stresses (cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu), manganese (Mn), and zinc (Zn)).

The grapevine enhances salt and osmotic stress tolerance in transgenic .

Our study aims to assess the implication of WRKY transcription factor in the molecular mechanisms of grapevine adaptation to salt and water stresses. In this respect, a full-length cDNA, isolated from a grape berry cDNA library, was constitutively over-expressed in seedlings. Our results showed that transgenic tobacco plants exhibited higher seed germination rates and better growth, under both salt and osmotic stress treatments, when compared to wild type plants.

Cellular mechanisms to survive salt in the halophyte Cakile maritima.

We recently identified two behaviours in cultured cells of the salt accumulating halophyte Cakile maritima: one related to a sustained depolarization due to Na influx through the non-selective cation channels leading to programmed cell death of these cells, a second one related to a transient depolarization allowing cells to survive (Ben Hamed-Laouti, 2016). In this study, we considered at the cellular level mechanisms that could participate to the exclusion of Na out of the cell and thus participate in the regulation of the internal contents of Na and cell survival. Upon addition of NaCl in the culture medium of suspension cells of C.

The LmSAP gene isolated from the halotolerant Lobularia maritima improves salt and ionic tolerance in transgenic tobacco lines.

The A20/AN1 zinc-finger domain-containing proteins of the stress-associated proteins (SAPs) family are fast emerging as potential candidates for biotechnological approaches to improve abiotic stress tolerance in plants. We identified LmSAP, one of the SAPs genes in Lobularia maritima (L.) Desv.

Salt tolerance of the halophyte Limonium delicatulum is more associated with antioxidant enzyme activities than phenolic compounds.

In this work we studied the effect of salinity (ranging from 50 to 500mM NaCl) on the physiological and the antioxidant responses of the local halophyte Limonium delicatulum Kuntze. We based our analysis on 12 biochemical assays that are commonly used to measure the antioxidant responses under stress such as oxidative stress markers, enzymes activities and polyphenolic compounds. Our aim was to study parameters that are strongly correlated with the growth response to salinity.

Comparison of NaCl-induced programmed cell death in the obligate halophyte Cakile maritima and the glycophyte Arabidopsis thaliana.

Salinity represents one of the most important constraints that adversely affect plants growth and productivity. In this study, we aimed at determining possible differences between salt tolerant and salt sensitive species in early salt stress response. To this purpose, we subjected suspension-cultured cells from the halophyte Cakile maritima and the glycophyte Arabidopsis thaliana, two Brassicaceae, to salt stress and compared their behavior.

A comparative study of the early osmotic, ionic, redox and hormonal signaling response in leaves and roots of two halophytes and a glycophyte to salinity.

Salt stress is one of the most important abiotic stress factors affecting plant growth and productivity in natural ecosystems. In this study, we aimed at determining possible differences between salt tolerant and salt sensitive species in early (within 72 h) salt stress response in leaves and roots. To this purpose, we subjected three Brassicaceae species, namely two halophytes-Cakile maritima and Thellungiella salsuginea--and a glycophyte--Arabidopsis thaliana- to short-term salt stress (400 mM NaCl).

Physiological response of halophytes to multiple stresses.

As halophytes grow vigorously in saline soils, they serve as extraordinary resources for the identification and development of new crop systems. Understanding the mechanisms of tolerance of halophytes to salinity in combination with other co-occurring constraints such as drought, flooding, heavy metals and nutrient deficiencies, would facilitate efforts to use halophytes for saline land revegetation, as well as provide new insights that might be considered in future breeding of plants for salt-affected agricultural lands. Recent results suggest that salinity may improve the response of halophytes to other stresses.

Drought and cadmium may be as effective as salinity in conferring subsequent salt stress tolerance in Cakile maritima.

Plants are often exposed to a combination of stresses, which can occur simultaneously or at different times throughout their life. In this study, the effects of salinity, drought and cadmium pre-treatments were evaluated on the subsequent response of Cakile maritima, a halophytic species, to various levels of salinity (from 100 to 800 mM NaCl) after a recovery time of 2 weeks. Studies were performed in two sets of experiments in a glasshouse under short and long photoperiod (November and July, respectively).

Increased sensitivity to salt stress in tocopherol-deficient Arabidopsis mutants growing in a hydroponic system.

Recent studies suggest that tocopherols could play physiological roles in salt tolerance but the mechanisms are still unknown. In this study, we analyzed changes in growth, mineral and oxidative status in vte1 and vte4 Arabidopsis thaliana mutants exposed to salt stress. vte1 and vte4 mutants lack α-tocopherol, but only the vte1 mutant is additionally deficient in γ-tocopherol.

Early effects of salt stress on the physiological and oxidative status of Cakile maritima (halophyte) and Arabidopsis thaliana (glycophyte).

Early changes in physiological and oxidative status induced by salt stress were monitored in two Brassicaceae plants differing in their tolerance to salinity, Cakile maritima (halophyte) and Arabidopsis thaliana (glycophyte). Growth response and antioxidant defense of C. maritima under 400 mM NaCl were compared with those of A.

Changes in content and fatty acid profiles of total lipids and sulfolipids in the halophyte Crithmum maritimum under salt stress.

In the halophyte Crithmum maritimum, the sulfolipid content increased considerably in the presence of NaCl. There were no significant changes in the total fatty acid composition of sulfolipids during salt treatment, except for linoleic and linolenic acids. In comparison to the control plants, sulfolipids in NaCl-treated plants showed a decrease in the percentage of unsaturated fatty acid (C18:3), and a corresponding increase in the percentage of unsaturated fatty acids (C18:2).