Glycophyte salt resistance

By perfusion of entire sunflower stems with NaCl solutions of various concentrations, we studied the phenomenon of sodium decrement, i.e., sodium retaining in the stem and leaf petioles. Such retaining could comprise up to 50–80% of initial sodium concentration. It depended on the rate of perfusion, the length of xylem vessels, and NaCl concentration. When perfusion with 100–500 mM NaCl concentrations (high for glycophytes) lasted for 10–12 days, we did not observe any decrease in the degree of sodium decrement. Simultaneously with sodium decrement, other ions (K⁺ and Ca²⁺) were secreted into the perfusate, thus providing for physiological equilibrating the monosalt solution supplied to the stem base. The high salt concentration in the perfusate induced a decrease in the hydraulic conductance of the vessels. The conclusion is that stressful NaCl solutions attain the shoot meristem and reproductive organs as an “equilibrated” salt solution and at a declined rate of xylem flow. The mechanisms of observed phenomenon of glycophyte salt resistance are discussed, the main of them being related to osmosis-dependent responses of stem living cells and the processes of ion exchange between the cells and xylem vessel content.