SOS1 gene overexpression increased salt tolerance in transgenic tobacco by maintaining a higher K+/Na+ ratio

Crop productivity is greatly affected by soil salinity, so improvement in salinity tolerance of crops is a major objective of many studies. We overexpressed the Arabidopsis thaliana SOS1 gene, which encodes a plasma membrane Na+/H+ antiporter, in tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum cv. Xanthi-nc). Compared with nontransgenic plants, seeds from transgenic tobacco had better germination under 120 mM (mmol L−1) NaCl stress; chlorophyll loss in the transgenic seedlings treated with 360 mM NaCl was less; transgenic tobacco showed superior growth after irrigation with NaCl solutions; and transgenic seedlings with 150 mM NaCl stress accumulated less Na+ and more K+. In addition, roots of SOS1-overexpressing seedlings lost less K+ instantaneously in response to 50 mM NaCl than control plants. These results showed that the A. thaliana SOS1 gene potentially can improve the salt tolerance of other plant species.