Cytogenetic and Biochemical Responses of Wheat Seeds to Proton Irradiation at the Bragg Peak.

The present study aimed to evaluate the morphological, cytogenetic and biochemical changes in wheat seedlings as affected by seed exposure to a proton beam at the Bragg peak. The average energy of the proton beam was of 171 MeV at the entrance into the irradiator room while at the point of sample irradiation the beam energy was of 150 MeV, with the average value of the Linear Energy Transfer of 0.539 keV/μm and the dose rate of 0.

Wild Halophytes: Tools for Understanding Salt Tolerance Mechanisms of Plants and for Adapting Agriculture to Climate Change.

Halophytes, wild plants adapted to highly saline natural environments, represent extremely useful-and, at present, underutilised-experimental systems with which to investigate the mechanisms of salt tolerance in plants at the anatomical, physiological, biochemical and molecular levels. They can also provide biotechnological tools for the genetic improvement of salt tolerance in our conventional crops, such as salt tolerance genes or salt-induced promoters. Furthermore, halophytes may constitute the basis of sustainable 'saline agriculture' through commercial cultivation after some breeding to improve agronomic traits.

Constitutive and Adaptive Traits of Environmental Stress Tolerance in the Threatened Halophyte Erben (Plumbaginaceae).

is a halophyte endemic to the E and SE Iberian Peninsula with interest in conservation. Salt glands represent an important adaptive trait in recretohalophytes like this and other species, as they allow the excretion of excess salts, reducing the concentration of toxic ions in foliar tissues. This study included the analysis of the salt gland structure, composed of 12 cells, 4 secretory and 8 accessory.

Impact of Proton Beam Irradiation on the Growth and Biochemical Indexes of Barley ( L.) Seedlings Grown under Salt Stress.

The present paper examines the effects of salt stress on the growth, pigments, lipid peroxidation and antioxidant ability of barley ( L.) seedlings raised from proton beam irradiated caryopses. In order to assess the effects of radiation on the early stages of plant growth and analyze its possible influence on the alleviation of salinity, 3 and 5 Gy doses were used on dried barley seeds and germination occurred in the presence/absence of NaCl (100 mM and 200 mM).