Genetics and Molecular Breeding for Salt-Tolerance in Rice

Abstract

Salt stress is one of the main environmental constraints for the losses of rice yield. In this paper, we introduced the mechanisms of rice salt-tolerance by the following three aspects: the integrity of membrane systems, ionic compartmentation, and osmotic adjustment. We also briefly presented the three methods for identifying rice salt-tolerance, which specifically refer to biological and agronomic salt resistance, as well as the response of in vitro cells to salt stress. Then we summarized the progresses of mining salt-resistance rice germplasm resources, mapping the QTLs conferring salt-tolerance, cloning slat-tolerant genes of importance and breeding salt-tolerant rice varieties. Through a long-term evaluation of this trait, some rice germplasm involved in salt tolerance have been identified. More than 70 QTLs controlling the salt-related traits of Na + /K + contents and survival days in rice have been identified. Two salt-tolerance genes SKC1 and DST have been cloned. A series of transgenic lines with salt-tolerance and polymerization lines of two salt-resistant genes ( SKC1 and BADH ) in rice have been developed in our lab. Finally, we discussed the prospects of rice salt-tolerant mechanism research and their applications in practice, which might provide an important reference for further studies of salt-tolerance in rice.