Root hydraulics adjustment is governed by a dominant cell-to-cell pathway in Beta vulgaris seedlings exposed to salt stress

Salt and Drought Stress Responses in Cultivated Beets (Beta vulgaris L.) and Wild Beet (Beta maritima L.)

“…Furthermore, the reduction of stomatal conductance and transpiration in seawater-treated wild beet (B. maritima) plants contributes to the maintenance of leaf turgor and, therefore, survival under salt stress [59]. The red beet (B. vulgaris) also decreased stomatal conductance in response to 200 mM NaCl [52]. In addition to succulence index, Φ PSII, and osmotic potential, Wisniewska et al (2019) have used some other physiological traits such as petiole dry mass, leaf blade dry mass, blade area, and relative flavonoid content as selection criteria, which were accession-specific under drought conditions.…”

“…In addition to salt tolerance, beets display better tolerance to water deficit compared to other grain crops [ 18 , 23 , 48 , 49 ]. Major abiotic stress factors such as salinity and drought in beets generally cause various morpho-physiological alterations such as growth retardation, wilting of leaves, reduction in stomatal conductance, photosynthetic rate and transpiration, decline in relative water content (RWC), leaf photosynthetic pigments, lower root biomass, membrane damage through lipid peroxidation, accumulation of compatible solutes, lower white sugar yield, and enhancement of specific leaf weight and succulence index [ 18 , 30 , 31 , 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 , 55 ]. In beets, yield reductions after drought might be due to changes in RWC and water potential in leaves [ 56 ], limited leaf growth and CO 2 assimilation [ 57 ].…”

“…A decrease in AQP gene expression leads to the decline in root hydraulic conductivity, which is required for stomata closure, deceleration of transpiration rate and therefore adaptation to low water availability under salt stress [ 123 ]. In a recent study, PIP2 protein in red beets under saline conditions changed its unphosphorylated/phosphorylated abundance, which is also associated with the alterations in root hydraulic conductivity [ 52 ]. More research studies are needed to identify beet AQP genes and understand their contributions to salt and drought stress tolerance in wild beet varieties and cultivated beets.…”

“…Similarly, the root length has been found to increase gradually in the tolerant sugar beet genotype, LKC-HB, in saline conditions [ 61 ]. Moreover, saline and water-deficit conditions decrease root hydraulic conductivity, but B. vulgaris roots have capability of adjusting their root hydraulic conductivity to avoid water loss at the earlier stages of salt stress [ 52 ]. It was speculated that the tolerant cultivars tend to reduce the density of root tissue; thereby, they can improve axial hydraulic conductivity under water deficit [ 20 ].…”

Root Morphology and Rhizosphere Characteristics Are Related to Salt Tolerance of Suaeda salsa and Beta vulgaris L.

“…Thus, we included B. vulgaris L., which is relatively salt tolerant, to maintain experimental consistency. B. vulgaris (also in the family Chenopodiaceae ) is an annual glycophyte that has strategy in response to salt stress to a certain extent ( Vitali et al, 2021 ). In this study, therefore, we conducted a pot experiment with two species: the euhalophyte, Suaeda salsa , and the glycophyte, B. vulgaris L. The objectives of the present study were to: (1) evaluate the effect of salt stress on root morphology (root length and surface area) and (2) determine changes in rhizosphere processes in response to salt stress.…”