Water deficit and abscisic acid production of Salicornia bigelovii under salinity stress

Abstract

We investigated the mechanism of growth reduction of dicotyledonous halophyte Salicornia bigelovii under salinity stress by growing it at 0.005 to 500 mol m⁻³ sodium chloride (NaCl). The optimal range for growth of S. bigelovii was between 50 and 200 mol m⁻³ NaCl. A significant correlation was found between growth and water content, which indicated that water deficit was an important factor in growth reduction at both suboptimal and supraoptimal salinities. Abscisic acid (ABA) concentration of the shoot was negatively related to growth and water content, which suggested that ABA induced by water deficit may inhibit growth at both the suboptimal and supraoptimal salinities. The cause of water deficit at supraoptimal salinity might be caused by nutritional imbalance and osmotic stress due to the low osmotic potential of the external solution. However, limited salt uptake may be one of the causes of water deficit under suboptimal salinity. We discuss a sodium ion (Na⁺) specific deficit rather than salt deficit as another possible cause of water deficit.

Keywords:

• abscisic acid
• halophyte
• Salicornia bigelovii
• salinity stress
• sodium
• water deficit.

Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully thank the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science for supporting the study through its Global Center of Excellence for Dryland Science program.