Over the last decades several efforts have been carried out to determine the mechanisms of salt homeostasis in plants and, more recently, to identify genes implicated in salt tolerance, with some plants being successfully genetically engineered to improve resistance to salt. It is well established that the efficient exclusion of Na + excess from the cytoplasm and vacuolar Na + accumulation are the most important steps towards the maintenance of ion homeostasis inside the cell. Therefore, the vacuole of plant cells plays a pivotal role in the storage of salt. After the identification of the vacuolar Na + /H + antiporter Nhx1 in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the first plant Na + /H + antiporter, AtNHX1, was isolated from Arabidopsis and its overexpression resulted in plants exhibiting increased salt tolerance. Also, the identification of the plasma membrane Na + /H + exchanger SOS1 and how it is regulated by a protein kinase SOS2 and a calcium binding protein SOS3 were great achievements in the understanding of plant salt resistance.

The intracellular accumulation of organic compatible solutes functioning as osmoprotectants, such as polyols, is an important response mechanism of several plants to drought and salinity. In Olea europaea a mannitol transport system (OeMaT1) was previously characterized as a key player in plant response to salinity. In the present study, heterotrophic sink models, such as olive cell suspensions and fruit tissues, and source leaves were used for analytical, biochemical and molecular studies. The kinetic parameters of mannitol dehydrogenase (MTD) determined in cells growing in mannitol, at 25°C and pH 9.0, were as follows: K(m), 54.5 mM mannitol; and V(max), 0.47 μmol h⁻¹ mg⁻¹ protein. The corresponding cDNA was cloned and named OeMTD1. OeMTD1 expression was correlated with MTD activity, OeMaT1 expression and carrier-mediated mannitol transport in mannitol- and sucrose-grown cells. Furthermore, sucrose-grown cells displayed only residual OeMTD activity, even though high levels of OeMTD1 transcription were observed. There is evidence that OeMTD is regulated at both transcriptional and post-transcriptional levels. MTD activity and OeMTD1 expression were repressed after Na+, K+ and polyethylene glycol (PEG) treatments, in both mannitol- and sucrose-grown cells. In contrast, salt and drought significantly increased mannitol transport activity and OeMaT1 expression. Taken together, these studies support that olive trees cope with salinity and drought by coordinating mannitol transport with intracellular metabolism.

The efficient exclusion of excess Na from the cytoplasm and vacuolar Na(+) accumulation are the main mechanisms for the adaptation of plants to salt stress. This is typically carried out by transmembrane transport proteins that exclude Na(+) from the cytosol in exchange for H(+), a secondary transport process which is energy-dependent and driven by the proton-motive force generated by plasma-membrane and tonoplast proton pumps. Tonoplast enriched-vesicles from control and 150 mM NaCl-tolerant calli lines were used as a model system to study the activity of V-H(+)-PPase and V-H(+)-ATPase and the involvement of Na(+) compartmentalization into the vacuole as a mechanism of salt tolerance in Solanum tuberosum. Both ATP- and pyrophosphate (PP(i))-dependent H(+)-transport were higher in tonoplast vesicles from the salt-tolerant line than in vesicles from control cells. Western blotting of tonoplast proteins confirmed that changes in V-H(+)-PPase activity are correlated with increased protein amount. Conversely, immunodetection of the A-subunit of V-H(+)-ATPase revealed that a mechanism of post-translational regulation is probably involved. Na(+)-dependent dissipation of a pre-established pH gradient was used to measure Na(+)/H(+) exchange in tonoplast vesicles. The initial rates of proton efflux followed Michaelis-Menten kinetics and the V(max) of proton dissipation was 2-fold higher in NaCl-tolerant calli when compared to the control. H(+)-coupled exchange was specific for Na(+) and Li(+) and not for K(+). The increase of both the pH gradient across the tonoplast and the Na(+)/H(+) antiport activity in response to salt strongly suggests that Na(+) sequestration into the vacuole contributes to salt tolerance in potato.

Mannitol is one of the primary photosynthetic products and the major phloem-translocated carbohydrate in Olea europaea L., an important crop in the Mediterranean basin. Uptake of mannitol in heterotrophic cell suspensions of O. europaea was shown to be mediated by a 1 : 1 polyol : H+ symport system with a Km of 1.3 mM mannitol and a Vmax of 1.3 nmol min(-1) mg(-1) DW. Dulcitol, sorbitol and xylitol competed for mannitol uptake, whereas glucose and sucrose did not. Reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR) performed on mRNA extracted from cultured cells exhibiting high mannitol transport activity allowed the cloning of a partial O. europaea mannitol carrier OeMaT1. The Vmax of mannitol uptake and the amount of OeMaT1 transcripts increased along with polyol depletion from the medium, suggesting that the mannitol transport system may be regulated by its own substrate. Addition of 100-500 mM NaCl to cultured cells enhanced the capacity of the polyol : H+ symport system and the amount of OeMaT1 transcripts, whereas it strongly repressed mannitol dehydrogenase activity. Measurements of cell viability showed that mannitol-grown cells remained viable 24 h after a 250 and 500 mM NaCl pulse, whereas extensive loss of cell viability was observed in sucrose-grown cells. OeMaT1 transcripts increased throughout maturation of olive fruits, suggesting that an OeMaT is involved in the accumulation of mannitol during ripening of olive. Thus, mannitol transport and compartmentation by OeMaT are important to allocate this source of carbon and energy, as well as for salt tolerance and olive ripening.

In olive fruits, sugars are the main soluble components providing energy and acting as precursors for olive oil biosynthesis. Large quantities of glucose, fructose and galactose are often found in olive pulp. To analyze sugar transport processes in Olea europaea, a cDNA encoding a monosaccharide transporter, designated OeMST2 (Olea europaea monosaccharide transporter 2) was cloned. An open reading frame of 1,569 bp codes for a protein of 523 amino acids and a calculated molecular weight of 57.6 kDa. The protein is homologous to other sugar transporters identified so far in higher plants. Expression of this cDNA in an hxt-null Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain deficient in glucose transport restored its capacity to grow on and to transport glucose. The encoded protein showed high affinity for D-glucose (K(m), 25 microM) and was also able to recognize D-galactose and the analogs 3-O-methyl-D-glucose and 2-deoxy-D-glucose, but not D-fructose, D-arabinose, sucrose or D-mannitol. Maximal transport activity was high at acidic pH (5.0), and the initial D-[(14)C]glucose uptake rates were strongly inhibited by the protonophore carbonyl cyanide m-chlorophenylhydrazone, confirming that OeMST2 is a H(+)/monosaccharide transporter. The expression of OeMST2 was studied during the ripening process. Transcript levels increased during fruit maturation, suggesting that OeMST2 takes part in the massive accumulation of monosaccharides in olive fruits. Monosaccharide:H(+) transport system activity and OeMST2 expression were negatively regulated by glucose in suspension-cultured cells. Glucose-mediated OeMST2 repression was impaired by mannoheptulose, suggesting the involvement of a hexokinase-dependent signaling pathway.