Metabolic Profiling to Elucidate Genetic Elements Due to Salt Stress

Soil salinity is a prevalent abiotic stress and affects around 20% of the irrigated land worldwide. Saline soil affects plant mineral nutrition and water uptake capacity. Plants adopt several strategies to combat salt stress such as synthesis of compatible solutes, control of ions uptake and transportation, production of enzymes and plant growth hormones, and ions accumulation or exclusion. Moreover, plants can also adapt to salt stress through a change in the whole metabolomics to overcome salt stress over a period of time. Metabolites, such as sugars, for instance, are important targets for mitigation of symptoms of salt stress. In spite of the scientific progress to date, still massive research work is to be done to investigate the actual physiological and molecular mechanism of metabolome and the underlying involved genes associated with salt resistance. In addition, expression, regulation, and function of genes and genetic pathways of metabolites, for example, proline, glycine betaine, abscisic acid, jasmonates, and flavonoids, that lead to the reestablishment of proper cellular ionic and osmotic homeostasis during salt stress, are not yet completely understood. This review presents an overview of past and current research on how plants, especially important crop plants, combat salt stress. Further, an attempt has been made to evaluate the gaps in current research and explore the role of genetic studies involved in metabolomics in order to enhance crop yield of salt-affected soils in future.