Abstract
Salt tolerance in plants is a complex trait involving multiple mechanisms. Understanding these mechanisms and their regulation will assist in developing novel strategies to engineer salt-tolerant crops. In the current study, we investigated salt-tolerant mechanisms in soybean (Glycine max) cultivar WF-7 in comparison to salt-sensitive Union. In vivo and in vitro salt assays demonstrated the salt tolerance of WF-7 at the seedling stage and during germination. After a 10-day 200 mM NaCl treatment, chlorophyll content in Union was reduced by 50 % compared to a 17 % reduction in WF-7. WF-7 was also less affected by abscisic acid (ABA) and NaCl during germination than Union. Upon ABA and NaCl treatment, the ABA-responsive genes SCOF1, ASN1, bZIP44, and AAPK1 are differentially expressed in WF-7 and Union seedlings. These results suggest that salt tolerance in WF-7 is in part regulated through an ABA-dependent pathway. In addition, following a 4-day 200 mM NaCl treatment, WF-7 produced more H2O2 than Union indicating the involvement of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in regulating salt tolerance in WF-7. Yet another mechanism WF-7 employs is withholding toxic chloride (Cl−) ions from aerial tissues. Following 200 mM NaCl treatment, Cl− accumulation was mostly localized to the roots of WF-7. In contrast, most of the Cl− in Union was transported into the stems and leaves. Taken together, our results demonstrated a role of ABA and ROS in regulating salt tolerance in WF-7, and the critical role of Cl− in NaCl-induced mortality in soybean.
Key message Withholding toxic Cl− ions from leaves and, to a lesser extent, stems, confers salt tolerance to soybean WF-7. In addition, ABA and ROS may be involved in salt-stress signal transduction.
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Acknowledgments
This work was supported in part by USDA Evans Allen Funds to SR, and by the grants 2009CB119000 and 2009-2-06 to YG. Authors would also like to thank reviewers for their valuable comments. This article is a contribution of the Virginia State University, Agricultural Research Station (journal series No. 288).
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Communicated by B. Li.
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Ren, S., Weeda, S., Li, H. et al. Salt tolerance in soybean WF-7 is partially regulated by ABA and ROS signaling and involves withholding toxic Cl− ions from aerial tissues. Plant Cell Rep 31, 1527–1533 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00299-012-1268-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00299-012-1268-2