Abstract
Halophytes can survive and complete their life cycle in the presence of ≥200 mM NaCl. These remarkable plants have developed various strategies to tolerate salinity and thrive in high-salt environments. At the appropriate levels, salt has a beneficial effect on the vegetative growth of halophytes but inhibits the growth of non-halophytes. In recent years, many studies have focused on elucidating the salt-tolerance mechanisms of halophytes at the molecular, physiological, and individual level. In this review, we focus on the mechanisms, from the macroscopic to the molecular, underlying the successful growth of halophytes in saline environments to explain why salt has beneficial effects on halophytes but harmful effects on non-halophytes. These mechanisms include the specialized organs of halophytes (for example, ion compartmentalization in succulent leaves), their unique structures (salt glands and hydrophobic barriers in roots), and their salt-tolerance genes. We hope to shed light on the use of halophytes for engineering salt-tolerant crops, soil conservation, and the protection of freshwater resources in the near future.
Highlights
Halophytes can survive and complete their life cycle in the presence of ≥200 mM NaCl
These mechanisms include the specialized organs of halophytes, their unique structures, and their salt-tolerance genes
The vegetative growth of halophytes can benefit from appropriate salt concentrations
Summary
Abstract: Halophytes can survive and complete their life cycle in the presence of ≥200 mM NaCl. We focus on the mechanisms, from the macroscopic to the molecular, underlying the successful growth of halophytes in saline environments to explain why salt has beneficial effects on halophytes but harmful effects on non-halophytes These mechanisms include the specialized organs of halophytes (for example, ion compartmentalization in succulent leaves), their unique structures (salt glands and hydrophobic barriers in roots), and their salt-tolerance genes. All non-halophytes show decreased biomass when grown in the presence of salt with one exception: Eutrema salsugineum (formerly misclassified as Thellungiella salsuginea, Brassicaceae [37,38]) This plant is widely considered to be a model halophyte [39] because it has a certain degree of salt tolerance and was reported to survive under 250 mM NaCl conditions [40,41], its growth sharply declines with increasing NaCl level [42,43]. Specific cellular and subcellular structures facilitate the strong growth of halophytes under the appropriate salt concentrations
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