Water and Saline Stress: Effects on Shoots and Root Growth in Arabidopsis thaliana

Three Arabidopsis thaliana plant strains: ABA 2-3, SOS 4-1, and wild type Columbia-0 (Col-0), were exposed to varying combinations of salt and drought stress. In the salt treatments, plants were watered with a solution of 3.34 grams/L of de-iodized table salt in tap water. In the drought treatments, the plants were thoroughly soaked for a few hours then drained for 2-4 days. The control plants were continually flooded in 1" of standing water. Stem length, leaf number, and rosette diameter were measured every three days and root length was determined at the end of the experiment. Initially, twenty-seven plants germinated: two of the ABA 2-3, eleven Col-0, and twelve SOS 4-1. The only strain to survive throughout the experiment was the wild type Col-0. The ABA 2-3 strain demonstrated drought resistance, as hypothesized. Surprisingly, the SOS 4-1 strain was affected more severely by drought than salt. Drought and salt together had a more severe effect on the wild type plants than either treatment alone, but this was not true for the SOS 4-1 plants