Sodium fluxes and silicon at the root plasma membrane: a paradigm shift?

Sodium fluxes in the root are critically important in salt tolerance, but new research using rice and including silicon suggests we need to revise our current understanding. Flam-Shepherd et al. (2018) provide evidence supporting the hypothesis that the extent of Na influx and cycling at the plasma membrane is far lower than previously assumed, along with significant and potentially masking apoplastic Na cycling. Silicon exerts an important effect on Na concentration in the shoot, but it appears that this is not the case in the roots. It is a paradigm shift and poses many new questions for the field.