title: Responses of growth, antioxidants and gene expression in smooth cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora) to various levels of salinity.
abstract: Salinity is a major environmental factor limiting the productivity and quality of crop plants. While most cereal crops are salt-sensitive, several halophytic grasses are able to maintain their growth under saline conditions. Elucidating the mechanisms for salinity responses in halophytic grasses would contribute to the breeding of salt-tolerant cereal and turf species belonging to the Poaceae family. Smooth cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora) is a dominant native halophytic grass in the Hackensack Meadowlands, the coastal salt marshes located in northeastern New Jersey. The goals of this study were to examine the growth pattern of S. alterniflora in a salinity gradient and identify an optimal range of salinity for its maximal growth. The regulation of its antioxidant system and gene expression under supraoptimal salinity conditions was also investigated. Our results showed that a salinity of 4 parts per thousand (ppt) (68 mM) was most favorable for the growth of S. alterniflora, followed by a non-salt environment. S. alterniflora responded to salts in the environment by regulating antioxidant enzyme activities and the expression of stress-induced proteins such as ALDH, HVA22 and PEPC. The plant may tolerate salinity up to the concentration of sea water, but any salinity above 12 ppt retarded its growth and altered the expression of genes encoding critical proteins.
authors.affiliation: School of Theoretical and Applied Science, Ramapo College of New Jersey, Mahwah, NJ, USA.
authors.forename: Abigail J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Courtney
authors.affiliation: National Engineering Laboratory of Tree Breeding, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Jichen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: School of Theoretical and Applied Science, Ramapo College of New Jersey, Mahwah, NJ, USA. Electronic address: yxu@ramapo.edu.
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xu
mesh_terms: D000975:Antioxidants / Q000378:metabolism*; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant / Q000187:drug effects; D006109:Poaceae / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D054712:Salinity; D055049:Salt Tolerance / Q000235:genetics*; D055051:Salt-Tolerant Plants; D012965:Sodium Chloride / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D000975:Antioxidants; D012965:Sodium Chloride
keywords: Antioxidant; Gene expression; Grass; Halophyte; Salt stress