Resistance to Salt Stress: Advances in Our Molecular Understanding

Dear Colleagues,

Saline and alkaline soils are major threats to modern agriculture, negatively impacting world crop productivity.  More than 7% of the world’s total land surface and nearly 20% of irrigated land are considered salt-affected, leading to a significant reduction in crop yields up to a complete yield loss. The further development of modern agriculture will be accompanied by climate change and lead to the spread of areas affected by salinity.   In order to sustain and continue plant production in our “salty” future, we must understand the molecular mechanisms of plant salt stress tolerance, including sensing, signaling, and physiological and morphological adjustments. One key strategy for combating the problem of plant productivity loss under salinity is the production and creation of novel salt-tolerant crops. Salinity impairs plant growth and development via water stress and cytotoxicity due to the excessive uptake of ions such as sodium (Na+) and chloride (Cl-). Additionally, this type of stress leads to nutritional imbalance and the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS).

Plant responses to salinity are very complex and include various adaptation processes that have to be coordinated to alleviate the consequences of hyperosmotic shock and ion toxicity on cellular, tissue, and whole plant levels. Plants have developed various mechanisms to combat the negative impact of this very complex type of stress, including the restriction of toxic ion uptake, cellular compartmentation, the tissue redistribution of toxic ions, osmolyte biosynthesis, and oxidative stress defense.  A pivotal role in the process of plant salt tolerance is membrane transporters involved in toxic ion movement as well as in sensing and signaling. Furthermore, during evolution, many plant species develop unique ways to survive in harsh saline environments. These plant species form a group of halophytes. There are still many crucial tasks and remaining open questions that need to be solved in the near future. 

This Special Issue on Plants focuses on the various aspects of molecular mechanisms of plant stress regulation and tolerance, including signaling and sensing, ion transportation, osmotic adjustments, and the growth and development of salt stress conditions.

Dr. Stanislav Isayenkov
Guest Editor

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• salinity stress
• sodicity
• alkali stress
• ion toxicity
• ion transport
• plant membrane transport
• salt tolerance
• salt tolerance in halophytes