Research Progress on Salt Stress in Plants

A special issue of Biology (ISSN 2079-7737). This special issue belongs to the section "Plant Science".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 May 2025 | Viewed by 895

Special Issue Editor

State Key Laboratory of Ecological Pest Control for Fujian and Taiwan Crops, College of Plant Protection, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China
Interests: plant hormone regulation and disease resistance; plant stress resistance; genetics and genomics
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Salt stress disrupts the delicate balance of water and ions in plant cells, leading to osmotic stress and ion imbalance. Consequently, it stands as a critical abiotic stressor that hampers plant growth and development, significantly impacting global agricultural production.

We are pleased to announce the launch of a Special Issue titled "Research Progress on Salt Stress in Plants" within the "Plant Science" section of Biology. This Special Issue will primarily focus on the latest advancements in plant physiology, biochemistry, molecular biology, genetics, and related fields concerning salt stress. Topics of interest include the effects of salt stress on plants, plant responses and tolerance mechanisms, as well as molecular breeding strategies for developing salt-tolerant plants. The findings from this Special Issue will enhance our understanding of plant responses to abiotic stresses and provide a scientific foundation for plant protection, breeding efforts, and ecological risk assessment.

We eagerly anticipate your contributions.

Dr. Yan Cheng
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • salt stress
  • plants
  • crops
  • soil salinization
  • salt tolerance
  • abiotic stress
  • plant protection
  • plant breeding

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

20 pages, 5242 KiB  
Article
Metabonomics Analysis Reveals the Influence Mechanism of Three Potassium Levels on the Growth, Metabolism and Accumulation of Medicinal Components of Bupleurum scorzonerifolium Willd. (Apiaceae)
by Jialin Sun, Jianhao Wu, Alyaa Nasr, Zhonghua Tang, Weili Liu, Xiubo Liu and Wei Ma
Biology 2025, 14(5), 452; https://doi.org/10.3390/biology14050452 - 22 Apr 2025
Viewed by 241
Abstract
Bupleurum scorzonerifolium Willd. is a commonly used bulk Chinese herbal remedy. Due to the large-scale mining of wild Bupleurum scorzonerifolium Willd., its natural resources are gradually exhausted. In addition, there are some problems in Bupleurum scorzonerifolium Willd. cultivation, such as lack of guidance, [...] Read more.
Bupleurum scorzonerifolium Willd. is a commonly used bulk Chinese herbal remedy. Due to the large-scale mining of wild Bupleurum scorzonerifolium Willd., its natural resources are gradually exhausted. In addition, there are some problems in Bupleurum scorzonerifolium Willd. cultivation, such as lack of guidance, excessive application of fertilizers and so on, which lead to the yield and quality of Bupleurum to be below the standard value. Therefore, it is significant to clarify the regulation of quality and yield under different levels of fertilizers. In this study, three different levels of potassium fertilizer were applied; then, the metabolites in different parts of Bupleurum were analyzed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) to detect the alterations in the metabolic spectrum and recognize both the accumulation and distribution of key metabolites in response to each level of potassium fertilizer. The contents of various mineral elements, such as sodium, calcium, potassium, magnesium, manganese, zinc, iron, and copper, in different parts of Bupleurum under different potassium levels were determined. Potassium fertilizer had a significant impact on the absorption and distribution of these mineral elements. There were synergistic and antagonistic effects between each element and K⁺. The results showed that low and high potassium levels could promote the progression of main shoots and roots, but inhibited the accumulation of dry matter in lateral shoots and flowers. Low potassium levels stimulated the content of saikosaponin a in all plant parts, while high potassium levels inhibited the accumulation of most saikosaponin a,c and d. A total of 77 metabolites were identified by GC–MS, of which glycerol, d-glucose, silane and copper phthalocyanine were highlighted as the key metabolites in response to potassium fertilizer. The abovementioned metabolites are mapped into insulin signaling pathways, streptomycin biosynthesis, galactose metabolism and other metabolic pathways, sustaining the metabolic regulation of Bupleurum scorzonerifolium Willd. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Research Progress on Salt Stress in Plants)
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20 pages, 6435 KiB  
Article
Physiological Changes and Time-Course Transcriptomic Analysis of Salt Stress in Chenopodium quinoa
by Peipei Li and Yemeng Zhang
Biology 2025, 14(4), 416; https://doi.org/10.3390/biology14040416 - 13 Apr 2025
Viewed by 298
Abstract
Quinoa, a halophytic pseudocereal crop, is highly resistant to harsh growing environments and is considered a suitable crop for cultivation in marginal areas. The germination period plays a decisive role in the formation of the crop population and the growth and development of [...] Read more.
Quinoa, a halophytic pseudocereal crop, is highly resistant to harsh growing environments and is considered a suitable crop for cultivation in marginal areas. The germination period plays a decisive role in the formation of the crop population and the growth and development of quinoa, but our understanding of the regulatory mechanism of salt stress remains limited. In this study, we investigated the physiological changes and mechanisms of tolerance response to salt stress in quinoa seedlings. The results showed that salt stress severely reduced the growth of quinoa seedlings. Moreover, salt stress increased the H2O2 level in the seedlings, thereby aggravating lipid peroxidation of the cell membrane and consequently increasing MDA content. Meanwhile, the antioxidant enzyme activities such as POD, SOD, GR and GPX of seedlings were enhanced in response to salt stress, which was consistent with the results of the RNA-sequencing. These results suggest that the increase in antioxidant enzyme activities in quinoa seedlings attenuates the ORS imbalance caused by salt stress. In addition, we identified 69, 40, 120 and 47 key genes in the “photosynthesis”, “glutathione metabolism”, “phenylpropanoid biosynthesis” and “starch and sucrose metabolism” pathways, respectively. Moreover, the predicted 235 transcription factors involved in the salt stress response have various hormone cis-elements in their promoter regions, which also indicates that multiple hormones are involved in the salt stress response process in quinoa. Therefore, we hope that these genes and mechanisms will provide some basis for understanding salt tolerance in quinoa. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Research Progress on Salt Stress in Plants)
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