The improved resistance to high salinity induced by trehalose is associated with ionic regulation and osmotic adjustment in Catharanthus roseus

• Trehalose reduced the damage induced by high salt stress and improved growth situation in Catharanthus roseus.
• The results explained the protective effects of trehalose in the sight of ionic regulation.
• The ability of osmotic adjustment was improved by trehalose to ameliorate salt tolerance.
• The accumulations of alkaloids were increased by applied trehalose.

The effects of exogenous trehalose (Tre) on salt tolerance of pharmaceutical plant Catharanthus roseus and the physiological mechanisms were both investigated in this study. The results showed that the supplement of Tre in saline condition (250 mM NaCl) largely alleviated the inhibitory effects of salinity on plant growth, namely biomass accumulation and total leaf area per plant. In this saline condition, the decreased level of relative water content (RWC) and photosynthetic rate were also greatly rescued by exogenous Tre. This improved performance of plants under high salinity induced by Tre could be partly ascribed to its ability to decrease accumulation of sodium, and increase potassium in leaves. The exogenous Tre led to high levels of fructose, glucose, sucrose and Tre inside the salt-stressed plants during whole the three-week treatment. The major free amino acids such as proline, arginine, threonine and glutamate were also largely elevated in the first two-week course of treatment with Tre in saline solution. It was proposed here that Tre might act as signal to make the salt-stressed plants actively increase internal compatible solutes, including soluble sugars and free amino acids, to control water loss, leaf gas exchange and ionic flow at the onset of salt stress. The application of Tre in saline condition also promoted the accumulation of alkaloids. The regulatory role of Tre in improving salt tolerance was optimal with an exogenous concentration of 10 mM Tre. Larger concentrations of Tre were supra-optimum and adversely affected plant growth.