Abstract
The influence of NO −3 -N on growth and osmotic adjustment was studied in Tamarix laxa Willd., a halophyte with salt glands on its twigs. Seedlings of T. laxa Willd. were exposed to 1 mM (control) or 300 mM NaCl, with 0.05, 1 or 10 mM NO −3 -N for 24 days. The relative growth rate of seedlings at 300 mM NaCl was lower than that of control plants at all NO −3 -N levels, but the concentrations of organic N and total N in the twigs did not differ between the two NaCl treatments. Increasing NO −3 supply under 300 mM NaCl improved the growth of T. laxa, indicating that NO −3 played positive roles in improving salt resistance of the plant. The twigs of T. laxa Willd. accumulated mainly inorganic ions, especially Na+ and Cl−, to lower osmotic potential (Ψs): the contributions of Na+ and Cl− to Ψs were estimated at 31% and 27% respectively, at the highest levels of supply of both NaCl and NO −3 -N. The estimated contribution of NO −3 -N to Ψs was as high as 20% in the twigs in these conditions, indicating that NO −3 was also involved in osmotic adjustment in the twigs. Furthermore, increases in tissue NO −3 were accompanied by decreases in tissue Cl− and proline under 300 mM NaCl. The estimated contribution of proline to Ψs declined as with NO −3 -N supply increased from 1 to 10 mM, while the contributions of nitrate to Ψs were enhanced under 300 mM NaCl. This suggested that higher accumulation of nitrate in the vacuole alleviated the effects of salinity stress on the plant by balancing the osmotic potential. In conclusion, NO −3 -N played both nutritional and osmotic roles in T. laxa Willd. in saline conditions.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Albassam B (2001) Effect of nitrate nutrition on growth and nitrogen assimilation of pearl millet exposed to sodium chloride stress. J Plant Nutr 24:1325–1335
Bar-Nun N, Poljaoff-Mayber A (1977) Salinity stress and the content of proline in roots of Pisum sativum and Tamarix tetragyna. Ann Bot 41:173–179
Blom-Zandstra J, Lampe B (1983) The effects of chloride and sulfate salt on the nitrate content in lettuce plant. J Plant Nutr 6:611–628
Blom-Zandstra M, Lampe J (1985) The role of nitrate in the osmoregulation of lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) grown at different light intensities. J Exp Bot 36:1043–1052
Bosabalidis AM, Thomson WW (1985) Ultrastructural development and secretion in the salt glands of Tamarix aphylla L. J Ultra Mol Struct Res 92:55–62
Botella M, Martinez V, Nieves M et al (1997) Effect of salinity on the growth and nitrogen uptake by wheat seedlings. J Plant Nutr 20:793–804
Caldwell M (1974) Physiology of desert halophytes. In: Reinhold RJ, Queen WH (eds) Ecology of halophytes. Academic, New York, pp 355–378
Campbell W (1988) Nitrate reductase and its role in nitrate assimilation in plants. Physiol Plant 74:214–219
Cataldo D, Maroon M, Schrader L et al (1975) Rapid colorimetric determination of nitrate in plant tissue by nitration of salicylic acid. Comm Soil Sci Plant Anal 6:71–80
Cerezo M, Garcia-Agustin P, Serna M et al (1997) Kinetics of nitrate uptake by Citrus seedlings and inhibitory effects of salinity. Plant Sci 126:105–112
Colmer T, Teresa W, Luchli A et al (1996) Interactive effects of salinity, nitrogen and sulphur on the organic solutes in Spartina alterniflora leaf blades. J Exp Bot 47:369–375
Demiral T, Türkan I (2004) Does exogenous glycinebetaine affect antioxidative system of rice seedlings under NaCl treatment? J Plant Physiol 161:1089–1100
Di Martino C, Delfine S, Pizzuto R et al (2003) Free amino acids and glycine betaine in leaf osmoregulation of spinach responding to increasing salt stress. New Phytol 158:455–463
Dluzniewska P, Gessler A, Dietrich H et al (2007) Nitrogen uptake and metabolism in Populus x canescens as affected by salinity. New Phytol 173:279–293
Dubey R, Pessarakli M (1995) Physiological mechanisms of nitrogen absorption and assimilation in plants under stressful conditions. In: Pessarakli M (ed) Handbook of plant and crop physiology. Marcel Dekker, New York, pp 605–625
Ebert G, Eberle J, Ali-Dinar H et al (2002) Ameliorating effects of Ca(NO3)2 on growth, mineral uptake and photosynthesis of NaCl-stressed guava seedlings (Psidium guajava L.). Sci Hortic 93:125–135
Gouia H, Ghorbal M, Touraine B (1994) Effects of NaCl on flows of N and mineral ions and on NO −3 reduction rate within whole plants of salt-sensitive bean and salt-tolerant cotton. Am Soc Plant Biol 105:1409–1418
Greenway H, Munns R (1983) Interactions between growth, uptake of Cl− and Na+, and water relations of plants in saline environments. II. Highly vacuolated cells. Plant Cell Environ 6:575–589
Hasegawa P, Bressan R, Zhu J et al (2000) Plant cellular and molecular responses to high salinity. Annu Rev Plant Biol 51:463–499
Hayashi H, Mustardy L, Deshnium P et al (1997) Transformation of Arabidopsis thaliana with the codA gene for choline oxidase; accumulation of glycinebetaine and enhanced tolerance to salt and cold stress. Plant J 12:133–142
Heidari M, Mesri F (2008) Salinity effects on compatible solutes, antioxidants enzymes and ion content in three wheat cultivars. Pak J Biol Sci 11:1385–1389
Holmström K, Somersalo S, Mandal A et al (2000) Improved tolerance to salinity and low temperature in transgenic tobacco producing glycine betaine. J Exp Bot 51:177–185
Irshad M, Eneji A, Yasuda H (2008) Comparative effect of nitrogen sources on maize under saline and non-saline conditions. J Agron Crop Sci 194:256–261
Köhler B, Raschke K (2000) The delivery of salts to the xylem. Three types of anion conductance in the plasmalemma of the xylem parenchyma of roots of barley. Plant Physiol 122:243–254
Khan M, Ungar I, Showalter A (2000) Effects of sodium chloride treatments on growth and ion accumulation of the halophyte Haloxylon recurvum. Comm Soil Sci Plant Anal 31:2763–2774
Khedr A, Abbas M, Wahid A et al (2003) Proline induces the expression of salt-stress-responsive proteins and may improve the adaptation of Pancratium maritimum L. to salt-stress. J Exp Bot 54:2553–2562
Leidi E, Silberbush M, Soares M et al (1992) Salinity and nitrogen nutrition studies on peanut and cotton plants. J Plant Nutr 15:591–604
Maggio A, Miyazaki S, Veronese P et al (2002) Does proline accumulation play an active role in stress-induced growth reduction? Plant J 31:699–712
Marschner H (1986) Mineral nutrition of higher plants. Academic, London
Martinez V, Cerda A (1989) Influence on N source on rate of Cl, N, Na and K uptake by cucumber seedlings grown in saline condition. J Plant Nutr 12:971–983
Martinoia E, Heck U, Wiemken A (1981) Vacuoles as storage compartments for nitrate in barley leaves. Nature 289:292–294
Moghaieb R, Saneoka H, Fujita K (2004) Effect of salinity on osmotic adjustment, glycinebetaine accumulation and the betaine aldehyde dehydrogenase gene expression in two halophytic plants, Salicornia europaea and Suaeda maritima. Plant Sci 166:1345–1349
Moore S, Stein W (1954) A modified ninhydrin reagent for the photometric determination of amino acids and related compounds. J Biol Chem 211:907–913
Munns R (2002) Comparative physiology of salt and water stress. Plant Cell Environ 25:239–250
Nublat A, Desplans J, Casse F et al (2001) Sas1, an Arabidopsis mutant overaccumulating sodium in the shoot, shows deficiency in the control of the root radial transport of sodium. Plant Cell 13:125–137
Ourry A, Meslé S, Boucaud J (1992) Effects of osmotic stress (NaCl and polyethylene glycol) on nitrate uptake, translocation, storage and reduction in ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.). New Phytol 120:275–280
Papadopoulos I, Rendig V (1983) Interactive effects of salinity and nitrogen on growth and yield of tomato plants. Plant Soil 73:47–57
Parida A, Das A (2005) Salt tolerance and salinity effects on plants: a review. Ecotoxicol Environ Saf 60:324–349
SAS Institute (1989) SAS/STAT User’s Guide. Cary. NC: SAS Institute Inc.
Shen B, Hohmann S, Jensen R et al (1999) Roles of sugar alcohols in osmotic stress adaptation. Replacement of glycerol by mannitol and sorbitol in yeast. Plant Physiol 121:45–52
Shi R (1994) Determination of the total nitrogen in plant materials. In: Shi R, Bao S, Qin H, An Z (eds) Soil agriculture chemistry analysis method. China Agriculture, Beijing, pp 213–216
Silveira J, Araújo S, Lima J et al (2009) Roots and leaves display contrasting osmotic adjustment mechanisms in response to NaCl-salinity in Atriplex nummularia. Environ Exp Bot 66:1–8
Song J, Ding X, Feng G et al (2006a) Nutritional and osmotic roles of nitrate in a euhalophyte and a xerophyte in saline conditions. New Phytol 171:357–366
Song J, Feng G, Tian C et al (2006b) Osmotic adjustment traits of Suaeda physophora, Haloxylon ammodendron and Haloxylon persicum in field or controlled conditions. Plant Sci 170:113–119
Stienstra A (1986) Nitrate accumulation and growth of Aster tripolium L. with a continuous and intermittent nitrogen supply. Plant Cell Environ 9:307–313
Thomson W (1975) The structure and function of salt glands. In: Poljakoff-Mayber A, Gale J (eds) Plants in saline environments. Springer-Verlag, Wien, New York, pp 118–146
Troll W, Lindsley J (1955) A photometric method for the determination of proline. J Biol Chem 215:655–660
Wang Z, Zhu S, Yu R (1993) Saline soil in China. Science, Beijing
Xi J, Zhang F, Tian C (2006) Halophytic species in Xinjiang. Science, Beijing
Yancey P (2005) Organic osmolytes as compatible, metabolic and counteracting cytoprotectants in high osmolarity and other stresses. J Exp Biol 208:2819–2830
Yang L (1999) Formation and use of nitrate-saline soil in arid areas. Chin J Soil Sci 30:251–253
Yang X, Wen X, Gong H et al (2007) Genetic engineering of the biosynthesis of glycinebetaine enhances thermotolerance of photosystem II in tobacco plants. Planta 225:719–733
Zhao K, Fan H, Zhou S et al (2003) Study on the salt and drought tolerance of Suaeda salsa and Kalanchoe daigremontiana under iso-osmotic salt and water stress. Plant Sci 165:837–844
Acknowledgments
We would like to thank Dr. Tim Colmer and Dr. Lindsey Atkinson for their critical reading and revision of the manuscript. We also acknowledge the financial support from the innovative group grant of NSFC (No.30821003), the Ministry of Science and Technology of China (No. 2007BAC08B04) and Key Programs of Xinjiang Autonomous Region of China (Grant No. 200733144-1).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Responsible Editor: John McPherson Cheeseman.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Ding, X., Tian, C., Zhang, S. et al. Effects of NO −3 -N on the growth and salinity tolerance of Tamarix laxa Willd. Plant Soil 331, 57–67 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-009-0231-7
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-009-0231-7