title: Patterns of ion excretion and survival in two stoloniferous arid zone grasses.
abstract: Desert plants show specific mechanisms to thrive under prevailing harsh conditions. To study the survival mechanism(s) in native desert plant species, Lesser Cholistan desert in Pakistan was surveyed and two potential salt secretory grass species, Aeluropus lagopoides and Ochthochloa compressa, were selected from five saline sites. Both these grasses responded differentially to saline environments by showing specialized mechanisms of survival including excretion of toxic ions through trichomes, vesicular and glandular hairs through leaf surface. In A. lagopoides, salt tolerance was associated with excreted Na(+) concentration through leaf surface and accumulation of useful ions like Ca(2+) and K(+) in the shoot. Contrarily, O. compressa excreted all the ions through leaves without discriminating among toxic or beneficial ions. Results suggested that A. lagopoides was more successfully adapted to saline desert environments than O. compressa by excretion of excessive toxic ions and retention of Ca(2+) and K(+) in the shoot. This appears to be an adaptive character of the former species to successfully thrive in harsh desert conditions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Botany, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Nargis
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Naz
authors.forename: Mansoor
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hameed
authors.forename: Abdul
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Wahid
authors.forename: Muhammad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Arshad
authors.forename: Muhammad Sajid
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Aqeel Ahmad
mesh_terms: D000222:Adaptation, Physiological; D003889:Desert Climate; D007477:Ions / Q000378:metabolism*; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000378:metabolism; D006109:Poaceae / Q000378:metabolism*; D055051:Salt-Tolerant Plants / Q000378:metabolism*; D012965:Sodium Chloride / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D007477:Ions; D012965:Sodium Chloride