Growth, physiological adaptation, and gene expression analysis of two Egyptian rice cultivars under salt stress

• Comparative analysis of salinity tolerance was performed using two Egyptian rice cultivars, Egyptian Yasmine and Sakha 102.
• Egyptian Yasmine was more tolerant to salt stress.
• Egyptian Yasmine was able to restrict Na+ accumulation in the leaves under salt stress.
• Salt stress induced the expression of OsHKT1;5, OsLti6b, OsAKT1 in Egyptian Yasmine, but not in Sakha 102.

Abiotic stressors, such as high salinity, greatly affect plant growth. In an attempt to explore the mechanisms underlying salinity tolerance, physiological parameters of two local Egyptian rice (Oryza sativa L.) cultivars, Sakha 102 and Egyptian Yasmine, were examined under 50 mM NaCl stress for 14 days. The results indicate that Egyptian Yasmine is relatively salt tolerant compared to Sakha 102, and this was evident in its higher dry mass production, lower leaf Na+ levels, and enhanced water conservation under salt stress conditions. Moreover, Egyptian Yasmine exhibited lower Na+/K+ ratios in all tissues examined under salinity stress. The ability to maintain such traits seemed to differ in the leaves and roots of Egyptian Yasmine, and the root K+ content was much higher in Egyptian Yasmine than in Sakha 102. In order to understand the basis for these differences, we studied transcript levels of genes encoding Na+ and K+ transport proteins in different tissues. In response to salinity stress, Egyptian Yasmine showed induction of expression of some membrane transporter/channel genes that may contribute to Na+ exclusion from the shoots (OsHKT1;5), limiting excess Na+ entry into the roots (OsLti6b), K+ uptake (OsAKT1), and reduced expression of a Na+ transporter gene (OsHKT2;1). Therefore, the active regulation of genes related to Na+ transport at the transcription level may be involved in salt tolerance mechanisms of Egyptian Yasmine, and these mechanisms offer the promise of improved salinity stress tolerance in local Egyptian rice genotypes.