Quaternary ammonium compounds in intact plants and cell suspension cultures of Atriplex semibaccata and A. Halimus during osmotic stress

Atriplex halimus and A. semibaccata plants and seeds were collected from their natural habitat in Egypt. Seeds of the plants were germinated in a low salt garden soil in Germany. A clear quantitative correlation between salt content of the soil of both biotopes and the amount of quaternary ammonium compounds in plants from both sites was not observed, indicating that the environmental sodium chloride concentration is not the only factor that influences the synthesis of quaternary ammonium compounds. Cell suspension cultures were raised from both plant species and the osmotic pressure of the culture medium increased by either sodium chloride or multiple amounts of macroelemerits. It was found that the cell suspension cultures are similar to the intact plants in that both exhibit enhanced growth under moderate sodium chloride concentration, do not accumulate proline in response to osmotic stress but do produce quaternary ammonium compounds. A positive correlation between salt concentration and accumulation of quaternary ammonium compounds was observed in the cultured cells.