Lessons from crop plants struggling with salinity

Salinity is a persistent problem, causing important losses in irrigated agriculture. According to global climate change prediction models, salinity is expected to expand in the near future. Although intensive studies have been conducted on the mechanisms by which plants cope with saline conditions, the multicomponent nature of salt stress tolerance has rendered most plant breeding efforts to improve the plant's response to salinity unsuccessful. This occurs despite the extensive genetic diversity shown by higher plants for salt tolerance and the similar mechanisms found in salt-sensitive and salt-tolerant genotypes in response to the presence of excess of salts in the growth media. On the other hand, there is an urge to increase crop yield to the maximum to cope with the growing world population demands for food and fuel. Here, we examine some major elements and signaling mechanisms involved in the plant's response to salinity following the pathway of salt-footprints from the soil environment to leaf. Some of the possible contrasting determinants for a better-balanced resource allocation between salt tolerance and plant growth and yield are considered. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.