Grigore Marius-Nicușor, Vicente Oscar
Faculty of Medicine and Biological Sciences, "Ștefan cel Mare" University of Suceava, Str. Universității 13, 720229 Suceava, Romania.
Institute for the Conservation and Improvement of Valencian Agrodiversity (COMAV, UPV), Universitat Politècnica de València, Camino de Vera s/n, 46022 Valencia, Spain.
Plants (Basel). 2023 Jan 4;12(2):221. doi: 10.3390/plants12020221.
Halophytes, wild plants adapted to highly saline natural environments, represent extremely useful-and, at present, underutilised-experimental systems with which to investigate the mechanisms of salt tolerance in plants at the anatomical, physiological, biochemical and molecular levels. They can also provide biotechnological tools for the genetic improvement of salt tolerance in our conventional crops, such as salt tolerance genes or salt-induced promoters. Furthermore, halophytes may constitute the basis of sustainable 'saline agriculture' through commercial cultivation after some breeding to improve agronomic traits. All these issues are relevant in the present context of climate emergency, as soil salinity is-together with drought-the most critical environmental factor in reducing crop yield worldwide. In fact, climate change represents the most serious challenge for agricultural production and food security in the near future. Several of the topics mentioned above-mainly referring to basic studies on salt tolerance mechanisms-are addressed in the articles published within this Special Issue.
盐生植物是适应高盐自然环境的野生植物，是极为有用且目前未得到充分利用的实验系统，可用于在解剖学、生理学、生物化学和分子水平上研究植物的耐盐机制。它们还可为我们传统作物耐盐性的遗传改良提供生物技术工具，例如耐盐基因或盐诱导启动子。此外，经过一些育种以改善农艺性状后，盐生植物可通过商业化种植构成可持续“盐碱农业”的基础。在当前气候紧急状况的背景下，所有这些问题都具有相关性，因为土壤盐渍化与干旱一样，是全球范围内降低作物产量的最关键环境因素。事实上，气候变化是近期农业生产和粮食安全面临的最严峻挑战。本期特刊发表的文章探讨了上述几个主题，主要涉及耐盐机制的基础研究。
