MECHANISMS TO SALT STRESS: PHYSIOLOGICAL AND MOLECULAR ASPECTS - Salt Marshes - page 131

Chapter 9
G LOBAL P LANT -R ESPONDING
M ECHANISMS TO S ALT S TRESS : P HYSIOLOGICAL
AND M OLECULAR A SPECTS
Xiaoli Tang 2,5 , Xingmin Mu 1 , Hong-Bo Shao * 1,2,3 ,
Hongyan Wang 2,5 and Marian Brestic 1,4
1 Institute of Soil and Water Conservation,
Northwest A & F University,Yangling, China
2 Key Laboratory of Coastal Biology & Bioresources Utilization,
Yantai Institute of Coastal Zone Research (YIC),
Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Yantai, China
3 Institute for Life Sciences, Qingdao University of Science & Technology (QUST),
Qingdao, China
4 Department of Plant Physiology, Slovak Agricultural University, Nitra, Slovak Republic
5 University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
A BSTRACT
The increasing seriousness of salinization aggravates the food, population and
environmental issues. Ameliorating the salt-resistance of plants especially the crops is the
most effective measure to solve the worldwide problem. The salinity can cause damage to
plants mainly from two aspects: hyperosmotic and hyperionic stresses leading to the
restrain of growth and photosynthesis. To the adverse effects, the plants derive
corresponding strategies including: ion regulation and compartmentalization, biosynthesis
of compatible solutes, induction of antioxidant enzymes and plant hormones. With the
development of molecular biology, our understanding of the molecular and physiology
knowledge is becoming clear. The complex signal transduction underlying the salt
resistance is being illuminated brighter and clearer. The SOS pathway is the central of the
cell signaling in salt stress. The accumulation of the compatible solutes and the activation
of the antioxidant system are the effective measures for plants to enhance the salt
* Corresponding authors: Email: [e-mail] (HB SHAO), Tel: [phone]; Fax: +86-0532-