Application of Molecular Markers for Identification of Potential Salt Tolerant Plant Species for use in Agroforestry and Saline Land Reclamation

Abstract

In this paper, a novel approach for preliminary identification of salt tolerance in Acacia species is presented, based on molecular phylogenetic analysis using nuclear ribosomal DNA markers (ITS and ETS). Four species of Acacia, i.e., A. pendula, A. salicina, A. victoriae and A. stenophylla, had been initially identified as salt tolerant and were being used for a land reclamation project of a salinity degraded area in Victoria, Australia. Using molecular techniques, a phylogenetic tree was constructed to identify additional Acacia species closest to the four candidate salt tolerant species. These data could be potentially used to identify and select additional salt tolerant genotypes that can be used for land revegetation projects for salinity-affected areas. Since these species are native to Australian landscape, employing them in preventing the expansion of salinity will also help with biodiversity conservation.