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Review
. 2024 Apr 29;15(5):573.
doi: 10.3390/genes15050573.

Insights into Salinity Tolerance in Wheat

Zechao Zhang  1 , Zelin Xia  1 , Chunjiang Zhou  1 , Geng Wang  1 , Xiao Meng  1 , Pengcheng Yin  1
Affiliations
Review

Insights into Salinity Tolerance in Wheat

Zechao Zhang et al. Genes (Basel). .

Abstract

Salt stress has a detrimental impact on food crop production, with its severity escalating due to both natural and man-made factors. As one of the most important food crops, wheat is susceptible to salt stress, resulting in abnormal plant growth and reduced yields; therefore, damage from salt stress should be of great concern. Additionally, the utilization of land in coastal areas warrants increased attention, given diminishing supplies of fresh water and arable land, and the escalating demand for wheat. A comprehensive understanding of the physiological and molecular changes in wheat under salt stress can offer insights into mitigating the adverse effects of salt stress on wheat. In this review, we summarized the genes and molecular mechanisms involved in ion transport, signal transduction, and enzyme and hormone regulation, in response to salt stress based on the physiological processes in wheat. Then, we surveyed the latest progress in improving the salt tolerance of wheat through breeding, exogenous applications, and microbial pathways. Breeding efficiency can be improved through a combination of gene editing and multiple omics techniques, which is the fundamental strategy for dealing with salt stress. Possible challenges and prospects in this process were also discussed.

Keywords: breeding; salt stress; sodium; wheat.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Known salt stress responses and signaling pathways in wheat: (1) the SOS signaling pathway is the most classical signaling pathway under salt stress, which in wheat consists of TaSOS3/TaCBL4, TaSOS2/TaCIPK5 and TaSOS1 [23], and transports Na+ out of the cell by sensing cellular Ca2+ signals. Ca2+ is the second messenger of the cell, and the Ca2+-CBL-CIPK network maintains homeostatic balance in plants, including the antioxidant system and the ABA signaling pathway; (2) the HKT gene family are Na+-selective transporters, TaHKT1;5-D, Nax1 and Nax2 maintain a high K+/Na+ ratio in wheat by limiting Na+ transport into the cell [14], and other channels, including chloride channel proteins, water-selective channel proteins and NSCCs, are also involved in the response of wheat to salt stress; (3) salt stress induces cellular ABA accumulation and the wheat ABA receptor TaPYL5 can regulate ROS homeostasis under abiotic stress through the TaPP2C53/TaSnRK2.1/TaABI1 signaling pathway [24]. The activation of ABA synthesis and signaling pathways enhances the expression of salt-tolerant genes and maintains cellular ion homeostasis. Other hormones such as JA, BR and GA also play important roles; (4) in transcriptional regulation, TaFDL2-1A-TaNCED2/TaSOD1/TaGPX1, TaCDPK-TabZIP60-TaNCED1/TaLEA1 and other pathways respond to salt stress [25] and NAC, MYB, WRKY, AP2/ERF, etc. improve salt tolerance of wheat by regulating the expression of stress-related genes; (5) at the post-transcriptional translation stage, overexpression of TaPUB1/2/3, TaPUB15, TaFBA-2A and TaSDR1 improves salt tolerance in plants, suggesting that wheat may be involved in protein degradation through ubiquitin-mediated pathways [26]; (6) TaATG2/7 was involved in the response of wheat to salt stress, suggesting that salt stress-induced deleterious substances may be degraded by autophagy; and (7) TMKP1 interacts with TMPK3 and TMPK6 in vivo, and TMKP1 overexpression in Arabidopsis under salt stress has a higher germination rate [27], suggesting that wheat MAKP may play an active role in regulating the response of plant cells to salt and osmotic stress.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Strategies to improve salt tolerance in wheat: (1) acquisition of parental salt tolerance traits through crossbreeding, transfer of salt tolerance genes into wheat bodies through transgenesis and alteration of salt-sensitive genetic information through gene editing; (2) alteration of enzyme activity and hormone levels in wheat by exogenous application such as osmotic substances, nutrients and signaling substances; (3) changing soil physico-chemical properties through fertilizer application; and (4) the enrichment of beneficial microorganisms in the root system was conducive to the improvement of wheat salt tolerance.
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