title: Genomics, Physiology, and Molecular Breeding Approaches for Improving Salt Tolerance.
abstract: Salt stress reduces land and water productivity and contributes to poverty and food insecurity. Increased salinization caused by human practices and climate change is progressively reducing agriculture productivity despite escalating calls for more food. Plant responses to salt stress are well understood, involving numerous critical processes that are each controlled by multiple genes. Knowledge of the critical mechanisms controlling salt uptake and exclusion from functioning tissues, signaling of salt stress, and the arsenal of protective metabolites is advancing. However, little progress has been made in developing salt-tolerant varieties of crop species using standard (but slow) breeding approaches. The genetic diversity available within cultivated crops and their wild relatives provides rich sources for trait and gene discovery that has yet to be sufficiently utilized. Transforming this knowledge into modern approaches using genomics and molecular tools for precision breeding will accelerate the development of tolerant cultivars and help sustain food production.
authors.affiliation: Genetics and Biotechnology Division, International Rice Research Institute, Manila 1301, Philippines; email: a.ismail@irri.org.
authors.forename: Abdelbagi M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Ismail
authors.affiliation: Division of Applied Biology, Faculty of Textile Science and Technology, Shinshu University, Ueda, Nagano 386-8567, Japan; email: horie@shinshu-u.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Tomoaki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Horie
mesh_terms: D001947:Breeding / Q000379:methods*; D057231:Climate Change; D002523:Edible Grain / Q000235:genetics*; D023281:Genomics / Q000379:methods; D017136:Ion Transport / Q000235:genetics; D010641:Phenotype; D055049:Salt Tolerance / Q000235:genetics*; D013312:Stress, Physiological
keywords: abiotic stress physiology; cereal crops; ion transport and homeostasis; marker-assisted breeding; natural variation; precision breeding