Molecular Networks and Signaling Pathways in Halophytes
摘要
Halophytes are plants that have adapted to thrive in saline environments, coping with high concentrations of salt in the soil or water. They make up about 1% of the world’s total flora. They are mostly found in salty marshes and arid and semiarid regions along the tropical and subtropical coasts. They comprise both dicots and monocots. They are highly adapted to many abiotic stresses such as high salinity, high temperature, drought, flooding, heavy metals, etc. As the first line of defense, halophytes have developed several morphological and anatomical adaptations toward salinity stress such as prop and stilt roots, waxy strips, succulent stem and leaves, enhanced stomata index, salt glands and bladders, thick epidermis, bulliform cells, and mucilage cells. Halophytes can withstand high salinity and, therefore, are considered as excellent donors for salinity-responsive genes. They harbor various adaptive mechanisms at the physio-biochemical level (osmotic adjustment, ion homeostasis, etc.), along with efficient coordination of different metabolic pathways, signaling networks, higher expression of salinity stress-responsive genes such as antiporters, various antioxidants, transcription factors, and other novel genes, which can be used to develop stress tolerance in glycophytes. The halophytic stress-responsive genes and the signaling cascades can be mined through various omics techniques, such as transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics, etc. This chapter provides an overview of the key aspects related to molecular networks and abiotic stress signaling pathways in halophytes, and the integration of omics data to decipher these regulatory networks.