title: Salt tolerance conferred by overexpression of a vacuolar Na+/H+ antiport in Arabidopsis.
abstract: Agricultural productivity is severely affected by soil salinity. One possible mechanism by which plants could survive salt stress is to compartmentalize sodium ions away from the cytosol. Overexpression of a vacuolar Na+/H+ antiport from Arabidopsis thaliana in Arabidopsis plants promotes sustained growth and development in soil watered with up to 200 millimolar sodium chloride. This salinity tolerance was correlated with higher-than-normal levels of AtNHX1 transcripts, protein, and vacuolar Na+/H+ (sodium/proton) antiport activity. These results demonstrate the feasibility of engineering salt tolerance in plants.
authors.affiliation: Department of Botany, University of Toronto, 25 Willcocks Street, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3B2, Canada.
authors.forename: M P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Apse
authors.forename: G S
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Aharon
authors.forename: W A
authors.initials: WA
authors.lastname: Snedden
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Blumwald
mesh_terms: D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins; D027682:Cation Transport Proteins; D018118:Chloride Channels / Q000378:metabolism; D002712:Chlorides / Q000378:metabolism; D015870:Gene Expression; D006859:Hydrogen / Q000378:metabolism; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000378:metabolism; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified; D012964:Sodium / Q000378:metabolism*; D012965:Sodium Chloride / Q000633:toxicity*; D017923:Sodium-Hydrogen Exchangers / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D014617:Vacuoles / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins; D027682:Cation Transport Proteins; D018118:Chloride Channels; D002712:Chlorides; C117751:NHX1 protein, Arabidopsis; D010940:Plant Proteins; D017923:Sodium-Hydrogen Exchangers; D012965:Sodium Chloride; D006859:Hydrogen; D012964:Sodium