Effect of substrate salinity on growth and on submicroscopic structure of leaf cells of Atriplex halimus L

Abstract

For optimal growth Atriplex halimus requires slight salinization of the growth substrate. It tolerates higher salt concentrations, but concentrations above 14 atm retard growth. At 9-14 atm, changes in the submicroscopic structure of leaf cells occur, viz. swelling of chloroplasts and mitochondria, appearance of numerous large lipid droplets, swelling of the nuclear membranes, extensive vacuolization, and distortion of the tonoplast with formation of numerous myelin bodies. There is no fundamental difference between the changes induced by chloride and sulphate types of salinity, although plants grown under sulphate salinity are much poorer in appearance. It is not yet possible to correlate structural changes with gross physiological phenomena. More direct investigations on the functions of the salt-affected organelles are needed.

Impact of Seawater Salinity on Ultrastructure of Chloroplasts and Oleosomes in Relation to Fat Metabolism in Flag Leaf of Two Wheat Cultivars During Grain-filling

“…The concentrations of 10% or 25% seawater at 21 days post-anthesis in Gemmieza-9 caused pronounced swelling of the thylakoid membranes in chloroplasts. These results coincided with those obtained, in case of plants grown in high salinity treatments, such as Atriplex halimus [28] wheat [29] and Mesembryanthemum crystallinum [30].…”

Hypersalinity effects on leaf ultrastructure and physiology in the mangrove Avicennia marina

“…All these factors would decrease the carboxylation capacity of Rubisco and ATP synthesis (Lawlor and Cornic, 2002), and subsequently the photosynthetic capacity of trees in the hypersaline site (Sobrado and Ball, 1999). High salinity induced changes, observed here for A. marina in the hypersaline site, were likewise reported for herbaceous Atriplex halimus (Blumenthal-Goldschmidt and Poljakoff-Mayber, 1968;Kelly et al, 1982), Aeluropus littoralis (Barhoumi et al, 2007) and rice (Mitsuya et al, 2000;Rahman et al, 2002;Yamane et al, 2003). Decreases in CO 2 exchange at hypersalinity observed in this study are similar to those reported for A. marina in Australia (Sobrado and Ball, 1999).…”

Effects of NaCl and CaCl2 on Cell Enlargement and Cell Production in Cotton Roots

“…Many of the deleterious effects of Na+, however, seem to be related to the structural and functional integrity of membranes. Swelling, distortion, and other structural changes have been observed in various membranes ofsalt-stressed plants, and the plasmalemma has been shown to lose its selective permeability (4,13,27). Sodium also inhibits K+ and Ca2+ uptake in salt-stressed cotton roots (5).…”