<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>Drought and soil salinity are at present the major factors responsible for the global reduction of crop yields, and the problem will become more severe in the coming decades because of climate change effects. The most promising strategy to achieve the increased agricultural production that will be required to meet food demands worldwide will be based on the enhancement of crop stress tolerance, by both, traditional breeding and genetic engineering. This, in turn, requires a deep understanding of the mechanisms of tolerance which, although based on a conserved set of basic responses, vary widely among plant species. Therefore, the use of different plant models to investigate these mechanisms appears to be a sensible approach. The genus <italic>Portulaca</italic> could be a suitable model to carry out these studies, as some of its taxa have been described as tolerant to drought and/or salinity. Information on relevant mechanisms of tolerance to salt and water stress can be obtained by correlating the activation of specific defence pathways with the relative stress resistance of the investigated species. Also, species of the genus could be economically attractive as ‘new’ crops for ‘saline’ and ‘arid’, sustainable agriculture, as medicinal plants, highly nutritious vegetable crops and ornamentals.</p></abstract>

Drought and soil salinity are at present the major factors responsible for the global reduction of crop yields, and the problem will become more severe in the coming decades because of climate change effects. The most promising strategy to achieve the increased agricultural production that will be required to meet food demands worldwide will be based on the enhancement of crop stress tolerance, by both, traditional breeding and genetic engineering. This, in turn, requires a deep understanding of the mechanisms of tolerance which, although based on a conserved set of basic responses, vary widely among plant species. Therefore, the use of different plant models to investigate these mechanisms appears to be a sensible approach. The genus Portulaca could be a suitable model to carry out these studies, as some of its taxa have been described as tolerant to drought and/or salinity. Information on relevant mechanisms of tolerance to salt and water stress can be obtained by correlating the activation of specific defence pathways with the relative stress resistance of the investigated species. Also, species of the genus could be economically attractive as ‘new’ crops for ‘saline’ and ‘arid’, sustainable agriculture, as medicinal plants, highly nutritious vegetable crops and ornamentals.

The genus <italic>Portulaca</italic> as a suitable model to study the mechanisms of plant tolerance to drought and salinity

University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine

Institute of Plant Molecular and Cellular Biology (IBMCP, UPV-CSIC)

Mediterranean Agroforestry Institute (IAM, UPV)

The New Zealand Institute for Plant & Food Research

The EuroBiotech Journal

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

The genus  as a suitable model to study the mechanisms of plant tolerance to drought and salinity

Drought and soil salinity are at present the major factors responsible for the global reduction of crop yields, and the problem will become more severe in the...

Species	Seed germination inhibition / NaCl (mM)	Growth inhibition / NaCl (mM)	Decrease of chlorophyll content / NaCl (mM)	Increase of Pro content / NaCl (mM)	Increase of ion contents		Change in MDA levels / NaCl (mM)
Species	Seed germination inhibition / NaCl (mM)	Growth inhibition / NaCl (mM)	Decrease of chlorophyll content / NaCl (mM)	Increase of Pro content / NaCl (mM)	Na⁺ / NaCl (mM)	Cl^- / NaCl (mM)	Change in MDA levels / NaCl (mM)
P. oleracea	50% / 100	37% / 400	30% / 400	196% / 400	1,811% / 400	1,686% / 400	- 17% / 400
P. halimoides	33% / 100	19% / 400	14% / 400	466% / 400	539% / 400	373% / 400	- 6% / 400
P. gradiflora	14% / 100	12% / 400	24% / 400	263% / 400	245% / 400	141% / 400	+ 14% / 400
Solanum lycopersicum	43% / 100	55% / 200	13% / 200	88% / 150	98% / 160	no data	no data

The genus Portulaca as a suitable model to study the mechanisms of plant tolerance to drought and salinity

Article Category: Review

Published Online: Apr 25, 2018

Page range: 104 - 113

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/ebtj-2018-0014

Keywords
Climate change, new crops, purslane, salt stress, water deficit

© 2018 Orsolya Borsai, Mohamad Al Hassan, Monica Boscaiu, Radu E. Sestras, Oscar Vicente, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

The genus Portulaca as a suitable model to study the mechanisms of plant tolerance to drought and salinity

Article Category: Review

Published Online: Apr 25, 2018

Page range: 104 - 113

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/ebtj-2018-0014

KeywordsClimate change, new crops, purslane, salt stress, water deficit

© 2018 Orsolya Borsai, Mohamad Al Hassan, Monica Boscaiu, Radu E. Sestras, Oscar Vicente, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
Climate change, new crops, purslane, salt stress, water deficit