Advances on plant salinity stress responses in the post-genomic era: a review

Abstract

Plant productivity is significantly affected by several environmental stresses. Excess amount of salt in the soil is one of the environmental stresses that affect plant growth and development adversely. Therefore, one of the significant crucial and challenging researches going on in plant science is to understand the salinity stress responses in plants. Mainly, the molecular and physiological studies promoting us to follow the salinity stress responses in various plants. Recent studies and reports on distinct and novel regulatory mechanisms and pathways involving sRNA molecules, chromosome remodelling and modification in genomic DNA. The studies enabled us to understand that the plant has evolved such a set of complex system mechanisms against severe salinity effects stress. Salt stress level causes a reduction in photosynthesis, and hikes transpiration rate in plants alternatively reduces plant biomass. Here we review our understanding of salinity stress impact on plants and various aspects of response mechanisms, metabolisms and strategies in plants. This review also highlights several response mechanisms in plants that continually takes place to withstand stress.