Plant Responses to Salt Stress: Adaptive Mechanisms

This article belongs to the Special Issue Further Metabolism in Plant System.This review deals with the adaptive mechanisms that plants can implement to cope with the challenge of salt stress. Plants tolerant to NaCl implement a series of adaptations to acclimate to salinity, including morphological, physiological and biochemical changes. These changes include increases in the root/canopy ratio and in the chlorophyll content in addition to changes in the leaf anatomy that ultimately lead to preventing leaf ion toxicity, thus maintaining the water status in order to limit water loss and protect the photosynthesis process. Furthermore, we deal with the effect of salt stress on photosynthesis and chlorophyll fluorescence and some of the mechanisms thought to protect the photosynthetic machinery, including the xanthophyll cycle, photorespiration pathway, and water-water cycle. Finally, we also provide an updated discussion on salt-induced oxidative stress at the subcellular level and its effect on the antioxidant machinery in both salt-tolerant and salt-sensitive plants. The aim is to extend our understanding of how salinity may affect the physiological characteristics of plants.PDV thanks CSIC and the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness for their ‘Ramon & Cajal’ research contract, co-financed by FEDER funds. We thank Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (Project AGL2014-52563-R) and Seneca Foundation of Murcia (Project 19903/GERM/15)