Roles of S-Adenosylmethionine and Its Derivatives in Salt Tolerance of Cotton

Salinity is a major abiotic stress that restricts cotton growth and affects fiber yield and quality. Although studies on salt tolerance have achieved great progress in cotton since the completion of cotton genome sequencing, knowledge about how cotton copes with salt stress is still scant. S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) plays important roles in many organelles with the help of the SAM transporter, and it is also a synthetic precursor for substances such as ethylene (ET), polyamines (PAs), betaine, and lignin, which often accumulate in plants in response to stresses. This review focused on the biosynthesis and signal transduction pathways of ET and PAs. The current progress of ET and PAs in regulating plant growth and development under salt stress has been summarized. Moreover, we verified the function of a cotton SAM transporter and suggested that it can regulate salt stress response in cotton. At last, an improved regulatory pathway of ET and PAs under salt stress in cotton is proposed for the breeding of salt-tolerant varieties.

Automated summary

Salinity is a significant abiotic stress factor that hampers cotton growth and affects fiber yield and quality. Despite significant progress in understanding salt tolerance in cotton since the completion of cotton genome sequencing, there is still limited knowledge on how cotton adapts to salt stress. This review summarizes the current progress in the biosynthesis and signal transduction pathways of ethylene (ET) and polyamines (PAs) and their regulation of plant growth and development under salt stress. Additionally, the function of a cotton SAM transporter in salt stress response is confirmed, providing insights for breeding salt-tolerant cotton varieties.