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. 2020 Aug 11;10(17):9384-9395.
doi: 10.1002/ece3.6625. eCollection 2020 Sep.

Salt glands of recretohalophyte Tamarix under salinity: Their evolution and adaptation

Xiaocen Wei  1 , Xin Yan  1 , Zhen Yang  2 , Guoliang Han  1 , Lei Wang  1 , Fang Yuan  1 , Baoshan Wang  1
Affiliations

Salt glands of recretohalophyte Tamarix under salinity: Their evolution and adaptation

Xiaocen Wei et al. Ecol Evol. .

Abstract

Here, we studied the evolution of salt glands in 11 species of Tamarix and determined their role in adaptation to saline environments by measuring the effect of NaCl on plant growth and salt gland characteristics. Cluster analysis divided Tamarix species into three types (types I-III) according to salt-gland characteristics. A phylogenetic tree based on ITS sequences indicated an evolutionary relationship consistent with the geographical distribution of Tamarix. We measured growth under different NaCl conditions (0, 100, 200, and 300 mM) for 40 days in three species (T. gallica, T. ramosissima, and T. laxa) representing the three Tamarix types. With increasing NaCl concentration, the biomass of all species was significantly reduced, especially that of T. gallica. Salt secretion ability and salt-gland density showed similar trends in three types. The order of salt tolerance was type I > type II > type III. We conclude that during Tamarix adaptation to salinity, salt-gland evolution followed two directions: one increasing salt-gland density, and the other increasing salt secretion rate per salt-gland. This study provides a basis for potential mechanisms of recretohalophyte adaptation to salinity.

Keywords: Tamarix; evolution; phylogenetic analysis; salt glands; salt tolerance.

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Conflict of interest statement

None declared.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Salt glands of T. elongata leaf lower epidermis. DIC and fluorescence images of salt glands of a T. elongata leaf lower epidermis under × 100 magnification (a, b) and ×400 magnification (c, d). Bars = 100 μm (a, b); 50 μm (c, d). Arrows indicate salt glands
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Cluster analysis of 11 species of Tamarix based on salt‐gland characteristics
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
Phylogenetic tree based on ITS gene sequences of Tamarix species with R. soongarica as an outgroup
FIGURE 4
FIGURE 4
Effect of different NaCl concentrations on plant growth of T. gallica (a), T. ramosissima (b) and T. laxa (c) after 40 days: (d) plant height; (e) leaf area; (f) fresh weight of shoots; (g) dry weight of shoots; (h) fresh weight of roots; (i) dry weight of roots. Data are means of five replicates ±SD; different letters indicate significant difference at p = .05
FIGURE 5
FIGURE 5
Effect of different NaCl concentrations on MDA content and plasma membrane permeability of T. gallica, T. ramosissima, and T. laxa after 40 days. Data are means of three replicates ±SD; different letters indicate significant difference at p = .05
FIGURE 6
FIGURE 6
Effect of different NaCl concentrations on salt secretion by leaves and assimilating twigs of T. gallica (a), T. ramosissima (b), and T. laxa (c) after 40 days (×50). Effect of different NaCl concentrations on salt glands of T. gallica, T. ramosissima and T. laxa after 40 days: (d) salt secretion rate; (e) secretion rate per salt gland; (f) salt‐gland diameter; (g) salt‐gland density. Data are means of 5 (d), 10 (e) or 30 replicates (f, g) ±SD; different letters indicate significant difference at p = .05. Bars =  1 mm
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References

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