Chloride nutrition improves drought resistance by enhancing water deficit avoidance and tolerance mechanisms

Chloride (Cl−), traditionally considered harmful for agriculture, has recently been defined as a beneficial macronutrient with specific roles that result in more efficient use of water (WUE), nitrogen (NUE), and CO2 in well-watered plants. When supplied in a beneficial range of 1–5 mM, Cl− increases...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Franco Navarro, Juan de Dios, Díaz Rueda, Pablo, Rivero Núñez, Carlos M., Brumós Fuente, Javier, Rubio Casal, Alfredo Emilio, Cires Segura, Alfonso de, Colmenero Flores, José Manuel, Rosales Villegas, Miguel Ángel
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2021
País:España
Institución:Universidad de Sevilla (US)
Repositorio:idUS. Depósito de Investigación de la Universidad de Sevilla
OAI Identifier:oai:idus.us.es:11441/131403
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/11441/131403
https://doi.org/10.1093/jxb/erab143
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Beneficial macronutrient
chloride
drought resistance
photosynthesis
turgor
water relations
WUE
Descripción
Sumario:Chloride (Cl−), traditionally considered harmful for agriculture, has recently been defined as a beneficial macronutrient with specific roles that result in more efficient use of water (WUE), nitrogen (NUE), and CO2 in well-watered plants. When supplied in a beneficial range of 1–5 mM, Cl− increases leaf cell size, improves leaf osmoregulation, and reduces water consumption without impairing photosynthetic efficiency, resulting in overall higher WUE. Thus, adequate management of Cl− nutrition arises as a potential strategy to increase the ability of plants to withstand water deficit. To study the relationship between Cl− nutrition and drought resistance, tobacco plants treated with 0.5–5 mM Cl− salts were subjected to sustained water deficit (WD; 60% field capacity) and water deprivation/rehydration treatments, in comparison with plants treated with equivalent concentrations of nitrate, sulfate, and phosphate salts. The results showed that Cl− application reduced stress symptoms and improved plant growth during water deficit. Drought resistance promoted by Cl− nutrition resulted from the simultaneous occurrence of water deficit avoidance and tolerance mechanisms, which improved leaf turgor, water balance, photosynthesis performance, and WUE. Thus, it is proposed that beneficial Cl− levels increase the ability of crops to withstand drought, promoting a more sustainable and resilient agriculture.