Regulation of Na(+) fluxes in plants

Frans J M Maathuis, Izhar Ahmad, Juan Patishtan

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

When exposed to salt, every plant takes up Na(+) from the environment. Once in the symplast, Na(+) is distributed within cells and between different tissues and organs. There it can help to lower the cellular water potential but also exert potentially toxic effects. Control of Na(+) fluxes is therefore crucial and indeed, research shows that the divergence between salt tolerant and salt sensitive plants is not due to a variation in transporter types but rather originates in the control of uptake and internal Na(+) fluxes. A number of regulatory mechanisms has been identified based on signaling of Ca(2+), cyclic nucleotides, reactive oxygen species, hormones, or on transcriptional and post translational changes of gene and protein expression. This review will give an overview of intra- and intercellular movement of Na(+) in plants and will summarize our current ideas of how these fluxes are controlled and regulated in the early stages of salt stress.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)467
JournalFrontiers in Plant Science
Volume5
Early online date16 Sept 2014
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2014

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