Cellular basis of adaptation to salt and water stress

Abstract

Cellular basis of adaptation to salt and water stress

Summary

Travel was conducted between 14-24 July 2002. The primary objective was to attend the Gordon Conference on ‘Cellular basis of adaptation to salt and water stress in plants’. A secondary objective was to discuss potential for interaction in the area of regulation of cellular control of chloride levels in plants.

An overall impression gained from attendance at the Gordon Conference was that there have been substantial advances, particularly in US and Europe, in molecular approaches to improving adaptation of plants to abiotic stresses. During the last few years in particular many laboratories in several countries have embarked on genomics approaches to identify key genes involved in plant response to abiotic stresses. Substantial new information is now becoming available and the challenge from here will be to identify and utilize specific key genes for improving plant tolerance. Demonstration that this can be achieved was clearly shown by the elegant studies of Blumwald and colleagues in isolating the Na+/H+ transporter gene and through transformation, substantially increasing the tolerance of tomato and Brassica to salinity.

Several papers dealt with abscisic acid and calcium signaling in plants. The abscisic acid work focused heavily on ABA signal transduction mechanisms which are linked to calcium ion channels in membranes and how these regulate cytosolic calcium oscillations which are in turn linked to guard cell potassium efflux and stomatal closure.

There were also some interesting presentations dealing with regulation of long distance sodium transport in plants. This included observations that potassium ion channels in membranes are linked to sucrose loading in the phloem and therefore sugar transport processes in the plant.

In terms of potential interactions, several contacts were made, the key ones being with researchers at the Universities of Cambridge and Sussex (UK) and Nevada (USA). There is a strong possibility that key people from each of these Universities with interests in ion uptake and transport processes and plant tolerance to abiotic stresses will visit Australia in 2003-2004. The visits will include seminars at key centres in Australia, and consideration of the potential for joint work in the area of cellular regulation of chloride levels in plants.