OsNHAD is a chloroplast membrane-located transporter required for resistance to salt stress in rice (Oryza sativa).

Salt stress is one of the major environmental factors limiting crop productivity. Although physiological and molecular characterization of salt stress response in plants has been the focus for many years, research on transporters for sodium ion (Na) uptake, translocation and accumulation in plants, particularly in food crops like rice is limited. In this study, we functionally identified an uncharacterized sodium ion transporter named OsNHAD which encodes a putative Na ⁄ H antiporter in rice. Homology search shows its close relation to the Arabidopsis Na/H antiporter AtNHD1 with 72.74% identity of amino acids. OsNHAD transcripts mainly express in leaves and are induced by Na stress. Confocal laser scanning microscopy analysis of OsNHAD::GFP fusion in tobacco leaves shows that OsNHAD resides in the chloroplast envelop. Knock-down of OsNHAD by RNA interference led to increased rice sensitivity to Na, manifested by stunted plant growth, enhanced cellular damage, reduced PSII activity and changed chloroplast morphology. Mutation of OsNHAD also resulted in accumulation of more Na in chloroplasts and in shoots as well, suggesting that OsNHAD is involved in mediating efflux and detoxification of Na but does not affect K accumulation in plant cells. Complementation test reveals that OsNHAD was able to functionally restore the Arabidopsis mutant atnhd1-1 growth phenotype. These results suggest that OsNHAD possibly mediates homeostasis of sodium ions in the subcellular compartments and tissues of the plants when challenged to salt stress.