HKT transporter-mediated salinity resistance mechanisms in Arabidopsis and monocot crop plants

The salinization of irrigated lands is increasingly detrimental to plant biomass production and agricultural productivity, as most plant species are sensitive to high concentrations of sodium (Na+), which causes combined Na+ toxicity and osmotic stress. Plants have multiple Na+-transport systems to circumvent Na+ toxicity. Essential physiological functions of major Na+ transporters and their mechanisms mediating salinity resistance have been identified in Arabidopsis, including the AtSOS1, AtNHX and AtHKT1;1 transporters. As we discuss here, recent studies have demonstrated that a class of xylem-parenchyma-expressed Na+-permeable plant HKT transporters represent a primary mechanism mediating salt tolerance and Na+ exclusion from leaves in Arabidopsis, and that major salt-tolerance quantitative trait loci in monocot crop plants are also based on this HKT-mediated mechanism.