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How plants perceive salt

High salt levels in the soil harm plant growth and limit crop yields. A salt-binding membrane lipid has been identified as being essential for salt perception and for triggering calcium signals that lead to salt tolerance.
  1. Leonie Steinhorst

    1. Leonie Steinhorst is at the Institute of Plant Biology and Biotechnology, University of Münster, Münster 48149, Germany.

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  2. Jörg Kudla

    1. Jörg Kudla is at the Institute of Plant Biology and Biotechnology, University of Münster, Münster 48149, Germany.

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Salt as a nutrient for humans is a double-edged sword, being tasty in small amounts but generating an adverse response as the concentration rises. Distinct protein receptors have been shown to mediate these opposing reactions in animals. Excessive uptake of salt is not only unhealthy for humans but also detrimental for plants, because high levels of salt in the soil limit plant growth and crop yields. This is of concern, given that such conditions affect approximately 7% of land globally, including areas used for agriculture, and high salinity affects about 30% of irrigated crops1. Writing in Nature, Jiang et al.2 shed light on how plants recognize salt in their surroundings.

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Nature 572, 318-320 (2019)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-019-02289-x

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