ANDRES BONIFACIO COLLEGE

College Park, Dipolog City, 7100

SHS Department

S. Y. 2019 – 2020

AQUINO, WASHRIEN S. STEM A-1

REAMBONANZA, ROSETTE M. STEM A

GENERAL BIOLOGY II

Chloroplast Function and Ion Regulation in Plants Growing On Saline Soils:

Lessons from Halophytes

Jayakumar Bose, Rana Munns, Sergey Shabala, Matthew Gilliham, Barry Pogson and Stephen D

Tyerman – 4 April 2017

SYNOPSIS

The available literature indicates that halophytes can overcome stomatal limitation by

switching to CO2 concentrating mechanisms and increasing the number of chloroplasts per cell

under saline conditions. Furthermore, salt entry into the chloroplast stroma may be critical for

grana formation and photosystem II activity in halophytes but not in glycophytes. It proposes the

molecular identities of candidate transporters that move sodium, chloride and potassium across

chloroplast membranes and discuss how their operation may regulate photochemistry and

photosystem I and II activity in chloroplasts.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Salinity is a growing problem for food production. Progress has been made in

understanding how plants tolerate salinity, mostly focused on strategies for tolerance at the

plasma membrane and cytosol. Bose et al. review studies that focus on how the chloroplast is

affected by salinity. The authors review the roles of Na +, Cl− and K+ in chloroplast function, and

compare salinity responses of chloroplasts from halophytes (salt-tolerant plants) and glycophytes

(non-tolerant plants). Although much is still unknown, there is compelling evidence to suggest

that chloroplasts of halophytes are uniquely suited for a high-salt environment; “Halophyte

chloroplasts may have intrinsically higher levels of oxidative protection, more stable

photosynthetic apparatus, and/or better control over chloroplast membrane transport.”

Clearly, these findings will be critical for efforts to engineer salt tolerance into crop plants.

CONCLUSION & APPLICATION

Research into the effects of salinity on plant reproductive biology has gained momentum

in recent years. However, it remains unclear whether the reproductive biology of halophytes

differs from that of non-halophytes, and whether their reproductive processes benefit, like their

vegetative growth, from the presence of salt in the rhizosphere.

Salt has beneficial effects on halophyte reproductive growth that include late flowering,

increased flower numbers and pollen vitality, and high seed yield. This improved performance is

due to optimal nutrition during vegetative growth, alterations in plant hormonal status, and

regulation of flowering genes. In addition, the seeds of halophytes harvested under saline

conditions show higher salt tolerance than those obtained under non-saline condition, largely due
to increased osmolyte accumulation, more optimal hormonal composition (e.g., high gibberellic

acid and low abcisic acid content) and, in some species, seed dimorphism. In the near future,

identifying key genes involved in halophyte reproductive physiology and using them to

transform crops could be a promising approach to developing saline agriculture.

MS. HOLLY-ANN CABASAG

GENERAL BIOLOGY II INSTRUCTOR

02 – 12 – 20