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Advances in Halophyte Salinity Tolerance
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Advances in Halophyte Salinity Tolerance

A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747). This special issue belongs to the section "Plant Physiology and Metabolism".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 July 2023) | Viewed by 6736

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Nadia Bazihizina

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Dipartimento di Biologia (BIO), Università degli Studi di Firenze, Via Micheli 1, 50121 Firenze, Italy
Interests: salinity stress; halophytes; abiotic stress tolerance; ion transport; water relations; gas exchanges; dryland agriculture
Dr. Giulia Atzori

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute for Sustainable Plant Protection, National Research Council of Italy (CNR-IPSP), Via Madonna del Piano 10 Sesto Fiorentino, 50019 Firenze, Italy
Interests: sustainable agriculture; salt stress; saline agriculture; plant nutrition; horticulture

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Halophytes are an exciting group of plants that not only present an elevated tolerance to salinity, thriving in salt concentrations that can damage most other angiosperms, but often also have a combined tolerance to other abiotic stresses as their habitats are often prone to flooding, drought, and high temperatures. To date, studies on halophytes have played a vital role in the recognition of key mechanisms (e.g., from the role of improved early signaling and differential hormonal regulation to the use of Na and Cl as a ‘cheap osmoticum’) involved in salt tolerance. Furthermore, comparative studies of halophytes vs. glycophytes have revealed that the former are well equipped with cross-tolerance mechanisms and that, in these salt-loving plants, tolerance is generally a constitutive trait. While the last couple of decades witnessed a considerable expansion of our understanding of the different mechanisms underlying salt tolerance and the various factors influencing/determining responses to salinity (both in glycophytes and halophytes), questions and challenges related to this fascinating field still exist. These range from an understanding of the economics of salt tolerance and the limits of the different strategies (‘exclusion’ vs. tissue tolerance) across the tolerance continuum, the complex networks of signal perception and signaling cascades responsible for plant growth/development adjustments, and the adaption to salinity stress, to how temporal and spatial heterogeneity in soil salinity and its interaction with other abiotic stressors, such as nutrient deficiencies, drought, and waterlogging, affect the plant’s overall performance. Simultaneously, there is also a need for studies to evaluate the improvement of agricultural traits (such as yield, palatability, chemical composition, and mechanical harvesting) for the establishment and development of a halophyte-based agriculture in saline resources. Therefore, this Special Issue welcomes articles (original research papers, perspectives, hypotheses, opinions, reviews, modeling approaches, and methods) that focus on the responses of halophytes to salinity at all levels (from cellular to whole plant levels), comprising the responses to uniform and/or heterogeneous salinities, interactions with other stresses (e.g., nutrient and water availability), and the assessment/evaluation of cultivation systems and applications that facilitate the agricultural and industrial use of halophytes.

Dr. Nadia Bazihizina
Dr. Giulia Atzori
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Plants is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • halophyte
  • biosaline agriculture
  • plant nutrition
  • salt stress physiology
  • alternative cash crops

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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14 pages, 2126 KiB  
Article
Salt-Induced Stress Impacts the Phytochemical Composition and Aromatic Profile of Three Types of Basil in a Genotype-Dependent Mode
by Michele Ciriello, Valerio Cirillo, Luigi Formisano, Stefania De Pascale, Raffaele Romano, Giovanna Marta Fusco, Rosalinda Nicastro, Petronia Carillo, Marios C. Kyriacou, Georgios A. Soteriou and Youssef Rouphael
Plants 2023, 12(11), 2167; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12112167 - 30 May 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1034
Abstract
Basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) is among the most widely used aromatic plants of Lamiaceae, often grown in areas where salinity is an adverse factor. Most studies on the effect of salinity on basil focused on the influence of salt stress on productive [...] Read more.
Basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) is among the most widely used aromatic plants of Lamiaceae, often grown in areas where salinity is an adverse factor. Most studies on the effect of salinity on basil focused on the influence of salt stress on productive traits, while few reported on how it affects the phytochemical composition and the aroma profile. Three basil cultivars (Dark Opal, Italiano Classico, and Purple Ruffles) were grown hydroponically for 34 days with two nutrient solutions that differed in NaCl concentration [no NaCl (Control) and 60 mM NaCl]. Yield, secondary metabolite concentration (β-carotene and lutein), antioxidant activity [1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and ferric reduction antioxidant power (FRAP)], and aroma profile based on composition of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were appraised in response to salinity applications. Salt stress significantly reduced fresh yield in Italiano Classico and Dark Opal by 43.34 and 31.69%, respectively, while no effect was observed in Purple Ruffles. Furthermore, the salt-stress treatment increased β-carotene and lutein concentrations, DPPH, and FRAP activities, and the total nitrogen content of the latter cultivar. CG-MS analysis revealed significant differences in VOCs composition of the basil cultivars, with Italiano Classico and Dark Opal characterized by the predominance of linalool (average 37.52%), which, however, was negatively affected by salinity. In Purple Ruffles, the predominant VOC compound, estragole (79.50%), was not affected by the deleterious effects of NaCl-induced stress. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Halophyte Salinity Tolerance)
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13 pages, 1067 KiB  
Article
Effect of NaCl and EDDS on Heavy Metal Accumulation in Kosteletzkya pentacarpos in Polymetallic Polluted Soil
by Mingxi Zhou, Zahar Kiamarsi, Ruiming Han, Mohammad Kafi and Stanley Lutts
Plants 2023, 12(8), 1656; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12081656 - 14 Apr 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1084
Abstract
The ability of plants to accumulate heavy metals is a crucial factor in phytoremediation. This study investigated the effect of NaCl and S,S-ethylenediaminesuccinic acid (EDDS) on heavy metal accumulation in Kosteletzkya pentacarpos in soil polluted with arsenic, cadmium, lead, and zinc. The addition [...] Read more.
The ability of plants to accumulate heavy metals is a crucial factor in phytoremediation. This study investigated the effect of NaCl and S,S-ethylenediaminesuccinic acid (EDDS) on heavy metal accumulation in Kosteletzkya pentacarpos in soil polluted with arsenic, cadmium, lead, and zinc. The addition of NaCl reduced the bioavailability of arsenic and cadmium, while EDDS increased the bioavailability of arsenic and zinc. The toxicity of the polymetallic pollutants inhibited plant growth and reproduction, but NaCl and EDDS had no significant positive effects. NaCl reduced the accumulation of all heavy metals in the roots, except for arsenic. In contrast, EDDS increased the accumulation of all heavy metals. NaCl reduced the accumulation of arsenic in both the main stem (MS) and lateral branch (LB), along with a decrease in cadmium in the leaves of the main stem (LMS) and zinc in the leaves of the lateral branch (LLB). Conversely, EDDS increased the accumulation of all four heavy metals in the LB, along with an increase in arsenic and cadmium in the LMS and LLB. Salinity significantly decreased the bioaccumulation factor (BF) of all four heavy metals, while EDDS significantly increased it. NaCl had different effects on heavy metals in terms of the translocation factor (TFc), increasing it for cadmium and decreasing it for arsenic and lead, with or without EDDS. EDDS reduced the accumulation of all heavy metals, except for zinc, in the presence of NaCl in polluted soil. The polymetallic pollutants also modified the cell wall constituents. NaCl increased the cellulose content in the MS and LB, whereas EDDS had little impact. In conclusion, salinity and EDDS have different effects on heavy metal bioaccumulation in K. pentacarpos, and this species has the potential to be a candidate for phytoremediation in saline environments. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Halophyte Salinity Tolerance)
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12 pages, 1785 KiB  
Article
Intercropping Salt-Sensitive Lactuca sativa L. and Salt-Tolerant Salsola soda L. in a Saline Hydroponic Medium: An Agronomic and Physiological Assessment
by Giulia Atzori, Werther Guidi Nissim, Stefano Mancuso and Emily Palm
Plants 2022, 11(21), 2924; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants11212924 - 30 Oct 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1495
Abstract
Competition for freshwater is increasing, with a growing population and the effects of climate change limiting its availability. In this experiment, Lactuca sativa plants were grown hydroponically with or without a 15% share of seawater (12 dS m−1) alone or intercropped [...] Read more.
Competition for freshwater is increasing, with a growing population and the effects of climate change limiting its availability. In this experiment, Lactuca sativa plants were grown hydroponically with or without a 15% share of seawater (12 dS m−1) alone or intercropped with Salsola soda to demonstrate if L. sativa benefits from sodium removal by its halophyte companion. Contrary to the hypothesis, saline-grown L. sativa plants demonstrated reduced growth compared to the control plants regardless of the presence or absence of S. soda. Both limitations in CO2 supply and photosystem efficiency may have decreased CO2 assimilation rates and growth in L. sativa plants grown in the seawater-amended solutions. Surprisingly, leaf pigment concentrations increased in salt-treated L. sativa plants, and most notably among those intercropped with S. soda, suggesting that intercropping may have led to shade-induced increases in chlorophyll pigments. Furthermore, increased levels of proline indicate that salt-treated L. sativa plants were experiencing stress. In contrast, S. soda produced greater biomass in saline conditions than in control conditions. The mineral element, carbohydrate, protein, polyphenol and nitrate profiles of both species differed in their response to salinity. In particular, salt-sensitive L. sativa plants had greater accumulations of Fe, Ca, P, total phenolic compounds and nitrates under saline conditions than salt-tolerant S. soda. The obtained results suggest that intercropping salt-sensitive L. sativa with S. soda in a hydroponic system did not ameliorate the growing conditions of the salt-sensitive species as was hypothesized and may have exacerbated the abiotic stress by increasing competition for limited resources such as light. In contrast, the saline medium induced an improvement in the nutritional profile of S. soda. These results demonstrate an upper limit of the seawater share and planting density that can be used in saline agriculture when intercropping S. soda plants with other salt-sensitive crops. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Halophyte Salinity Tolerance)
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Review

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21 pages, 1493 KiB  
Review
Potential of Halophytes as Sustainable Fodder Production by Using Saline Resources: A Review of Current Knowledge and Future Directions
by Maria Hasnain, Zainul Abideen, Faraz Ali, Mirza Hasanuzzaman and Ali El-Keblawy
Plants 2023, 12(11), 2150; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12112150 - 29 May 2023
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2440
Abstract
Good quality water and arable land are required for both domestic and agricultural uses. Increasing population leads to urbanization and industrialization increasing the need to share these resources and creating threats to the food supply. Higher meat consumption requires mitigation strategies to protect [...] Read more.
Good quality water and arable land are required for both domestic and agricultural uses. Increasing population leads to urbanization and industrialization increasing the need to share these resources and creating threats to the food supply. Higher meat consumption requires mitigation strategies to protect food and mitigate economic crises, especially in developing nations. The production of food crops for energy purposes and lower yield due to climate change increase food prices as well as have a negative impact on the economy. Thus, an alternative food source is required featuring high forage components to reduce grazing periods and to prevent rangeland degradation. Halophytes can tolerate high salinity and can be easily grown for fodder in coastal areas where fodder is a problem. Varied climate conditions offer opportunities to grow suitable halophytes for specific purposes. One important feature is their use as fodder. To reduce food shortages, saline areas could be used to grow nutritive and productive halophytic forage. Wild plants have undesirable metabolites produced in harsh conditions which may be harmful for ruminant health. Halophytes have moderate amounts of these metabolites which are nontoxic. Halophytes can be grown without intruding on agricultural lands and freshwater resources and could promote livestock production which may improve the socio-economic conditions of poor farmers in a sustainable and ecofriendly manner. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Halophyte Salinity Tolerance)
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