TITLE:
Physiological Response of Halophyte (Suaeda altissima (L.) Pall.) and Glycophyte (Spinacia oleracea L.) to Salinity
AUTHORS:
Nataly R. Meychik, Yuliya I. Nikolaeva, Igor P. Yermakov
KEYWORDS:
Suaeda altissima (L.) Pall.; Spinacia oleracea L.; Salinity; Ions; Praline; Nitrogen; Protein
JOURNAL NAME:
American Journal of Plant Sciences,
Vol.4 No.2A,
February
28,
2013
ABSTRACT: We have done a
comparative study of ion status, growth and biochemical parameters in shoots
and roots of seablite (Suaeda altissima (L.) Pall.) and
spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.) grown with different salinity levels in the medium (0.5 - 750 mМ). A distinctive feature
of the halophyte was a high Na+ content in tissues at its low
concentration in the medium (0.5 mM).
In these conditions, Na+ accumulation in seablite roots was
four-fold higher than in spinach roots, and Na+ content in seablite
leaves was almost 20-fold higher than in spinach. Together with an increase in
sodium concentration in the medium, K+ content decreased six-fold in
seablite leaves, while in spinach it did not decrease so drastically. We can
suppose that in the halophyte, some processes occur only in the presence of
sodium, and these functions of sodium cannot be fully fulfilled by potassium. Analysis of
protein and total nitrogen content in tissues shows that at high salinity, the
ability to synthesize non-protein nitrogen-containing compounds increases in
the halophyte and decreases in the glycophyte. Data on proline content dynamics
show that its increase in tissues of spinach (salinity levels 150 and 250 mМ) and seablite (salinity levels 0.5 and 750 mМ) is an indicator of plant injury. In seablite and
spinach, proline is not a major osmoregulator. Its concentration both in roots
and leaves was no more than 2.5 μmol/g fresh weight. The data presented in this
work concern the accumulation and distribution of Na+, Cl?,
K+ and ions, as well as growth and biochemical
parameters. Our data show that the development of adaptation reactions in the
whole plants in the conditions of high salinity is determined by
morphofunctional systems and their interaction.