Stress salinity in plants: New strategies to cope with in the foreseeable scenario

• Published in: Plant physiology and biochemistry 2024-03, Vol.208, p.108507-108507, Article 108507
• Main Authors: Hualpa-Ramirez, Efrain, Carrasco-Lozano, Emerson Clovis, Madrid-Espinoza, José, Tejos, Ricardo, Ruiz-Lara, Simón, Stange, Claudia, Norambuena, Lorena
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: ABA; Genetic engineering; NaCl; Plant Breeding; Plant Development; Reactive Oxygen Species; Salinity; Salt stress; Salt-Tolerant Plants - genetics; Stress, Physiological
• ISSN: 0981-9428; 1873-2690
• DOI: 10.1016/j.plaphy.2024.108507

The excess of salts in soils causes stress in most plants, except for some halophytes that can tolerate higher levels of salinity. The excess of Na+ generates an ionic imbalance, reducing the K+ content and altering cellular metabolism, thus impacting in plant growth and development. Additionally, salinity in soil induces water stress due to osmotic effects and increments the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) that affect the cellular structure, damaging membranes and proteins, and altering the electrochemical potential of H+, which directly affects nutrient absorption by membrane transporters. However, plants possess mechanisms to overcome the toxicity of the sodium ions, such as internalization into the vacuole or exclusion from the cell, synthesis of enzymes or protective compounds against ROS, and the synthesis of metabolites that help to regulate the osmotic potential of plants. Physiologic and molecular mechanisms of salinity tolerance in plants will be addressed in this review. Furthermore, a revision of strategies taken by researchers to confer salt stress tolerance on agriculturally important species are discussed. These strategies include conventional breeding and genetic engineering as transgenesis and genome editing by CRISPR/Cas9. •Plants possess mechanisms to overcome salt tolerance, such as internalization of ions into the vacuole or exclusion of Na+, synthesis of enzymes or protective compounds against ROS, and the synthesis of osmoprotectant metabolites that help to regulate the osmotic potential of plants.•Genetic engineering offers promising solutions for enhancing abiotic stress tolerance in plants.•By introducing or modifying specific genes involved in stress response pathways, scientists can improve the ability of plants to withstand salinity and other abiotic stresses.•The development of more resilient and productive crop varieties will address the challenges of global food security in a changing climate.