Effect of substrate salinity on the ability for protein synthesis in pea roots

The effect of salinity on incorporation of amino acids into root tip protein is apparently of dual nature: in presence of salts the uptake is depressed and the normal metabolic pathways are disturbed. If the roots were grown at high salt concentration, uptake and incorporation are affected even if they are carried out in the absence of salt. NaCl and Na₂SO₄ affect uptake, incorporation, and metabolism of ¹⁴C leucine in different ways. There are also preliminary indications that in pea roots grown at different types of salinity, different proteins may be synthesized. Kinetin was found to inhibit incorporation of amino acids into non stressed and Na₂SO₄ stressed roots, but promotes uptake and incorporation of amino acids into protein in NaCl stressed tissue. It seems that there are some pronounced differences between the effects of NaCl and Na₂SO₄ salinities on the metabolism of pea root tissue.