Hktsodium And Potassium Transporters Inarabidopsis Thalianaand Related Halophyte Species

High salinity induces osmotic stress and often leads to sodium ion-specific toxicity, with inhibitory effects on physiological, biochemical and developmental pathways. To cope with increased Na(+)in soil water, plants restrict influx, compartmentalize ions into vacuoles, export excess Na(+)from the cell, and distribute ions between the aerial and root organs. In this review, we discuss our current understanding of how high-affinity K(+)transporters (HKT) contribute to salinity tolerance, focusing on HKT1-like family members primarily involved in long-distance transport, and in the recent research in the model plant Arabidopsis and its halophytic counterparts of theEutremagenus. Functional characterization of the salt overly sensitive (SOS) pathway and HKT1-type transporters in these species indicate that they utilize similar approaches to deal with salinity, regardless of their tolerance.