Chloride on the move

Chloride (Cl-) is an essential plant nutrient but under saline conditions it can accumulate to toxic levels in leaves; limiting this accumulation improves the salt tolerance of some crops. The rate-limiting step for this process - the transfer of Cl- from root symplast to xylem apoplast, which can antagonize delivery of the macronutrient nitrate (NO3-) to shoots - is regulated by abscisic acid (ABA) and is multigenic. Until recently the molecular mechanisms underpinning this salt-tolerance trait were poorly defined. We discuss here how recent advances highlight the role of newly identified transport proteins, some that directly transfer Cl- into the xylem, and others that act on endomembranes in 'gatekeeper' cell types in the root stele to control root-to-shoot delivery of Cl-.Bo Li, Mark Tester and Matthew Gilliha