Effect of salt stress on plant gene expression: A review

Soil salinity is an important agricultural problem, particularly since the majority of crop plants have low salt tolerance. The identification of genes whose expression enables plants to adapt to or tolerate salt stress is essential for breeding programs, but little is known about the genetic mechanisms for salt tolerance. Recent research demonstrates that salt stress modulates the levels of a number of gene products. Although the detection of gene products that respons specifically to salt stress is a significant finding, they must be identified, functions assigned, and their relation to salt tolerance determined. This article focuses on a few of the salt-responsive proteins and mRNAs that have been discovered and the methods employed to identify and characterize them.