title: Perturbed reproductive development in salt-treated Sorghum bicolor: a consequence of modifications in regulation networks?
abstract: In Sorghum bicolor, tolerance to salinity is improved by a 3-week treatment with 150 mM NaCl during early vegetative development. However, a strong decrease in fertility is also observed, suggesting that reproductive development becomes perturbed by this adaptive response to salinity. This study is an attempt to clarify the origin of such a paradoxical phenomenon. The relationships between end-cycle characters are modified by the NaCl treatment: some linkages disappear, while others are strengthened, especially those linking fertility with plant height. In parallel, a transient reduced level of linkage between leaf characters is observed around the unfolding of the eighth to the tenth leaves, defining a critical period in vegetative development separating two discrete phases. A relationship is observed between events occurring during this short critical period and the NaCl-induced perturbations in fertility. This suggests that reproductive development is conditioned by the influence of salinity on events occurring during a short period of vegetative development, independently of the level of tolerance to salinity quantified by the rate of vegetative growth.
authors.affiliation: The Judea Center for Research and Development, Carmel, 90404, Israel. nissamz@bgumail.bgu.ac.il
authors.forename: G Nissim
authors.initials: GN
authors.lastname: Amzallag
mesh_terms: D000222:Adaptation, Physiological; D049628:Body Size / Q000187:drug effects; D012098:Reproduction / Q000187:drug effects; D015398:Signal Transduction; D012965:Sodium Chloride / Q000494:pharmacology*; D045868:Sorghum / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000254:growth & development*
chemical_list: D012965:Sodium Chloride