Abstract
Background
Under saline conditions, Suaeda salsa, as a typical halophyte, accumulates large amounts of Na+ in its leaves during optimal growth. Key transporters involved in Na+ accumulation in plants are HKT-type protein, the plasma membrane Na+/H+ transporter SOS1, and the tonoplast Na+/H+ antiporter NHX1. In this study, the function of SsHKT1;1 and its coordinate expression with SsSOS1 and SsNHX1 to regulate Na+ homeostasis in S. salsa was investigated.
Results
We showed, by yeast complementation assays, that SsHKT1;1 encoded a Na+-selective transporter, which located to the plasma membrane and was preferentially expressed within the stele, and was particularly abundant in xylem parenchyma and pericycle cells. When compared with a treatment of 25 mM NaCl, 150 mM NaCl greatly decreased the transcripts of SsHKT1;1, but maintained a relatively constant level of the expression of SsSOS1 in roots. Consequently, the synergistic effect of SsHKT1;1 and SsSOS1 would result in greater Na+ loading into the xylem under 150 mM NaCl than 25 mM NaCl. In leaves, 150 mM NaCl up-regulated the abundance of SsNHX1 compared with levels in 25 mM NaCl. This enabled the permanent sequestering of Na+ into leaf vacuoles.
Conclusions
Overall, SsHKT1;1 functioned in reducing Na+ retrieval from the root xylem, and played an important role in coordinating with SsSOS1 and SsNHX1 to maintain Na+ accumulation in S. salsa under saline conditions.
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Acknowledgements
We thank Prof. Caifu Jiang (China Agricultural University) for technical guidance on in situ PCR. This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31730093) and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (lzujbky-2018-k01).
Funding
National Natural Science Foundation of China, Grant/Award Number: 31730093; the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, Grant/Award Number: lzujbky-2018-k01.
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Wang, WY., Liu, YQ., Duan, HR. et al. SsHKT1;1 is coordinated with SsSOS1 and SsNHX1 to regulate Na+ homeostasis in Suaeda salsa under saline conditions. Plant Soil 449, 117–131 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-020-04463-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-020-04463-x