Ethylene: A Master Regulator of Salinity Stress Tolerance in Plants
Riyazuddin Riyazuddin,
Radhika Verma,
Kalpita Singh,
Nisha Nisha,
Monika Keisham,
Kaushal Kumar Bhati,
Sun Tae Kim,
Ravi Gupta
Affiliations
Riyazuddin Riyazuddin
Department of Plant Biology, Faculty of Science and Informatics, University of Szeged, Közép fasor 52, H-6726 Szeged, Hungary
Radhika Verma
Department of Biotechnology, Visva-Bharati Central University, Santiniketan, West Bengal 731235, India
Kalpita Singh
School of Biotechnology, Gautam Buddha University, Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh 201312, India
Nisha Nisha
Department of Integrated Plant Protection, Plant Protection Institute, Faculty of Horticultural Sciences, Szent István University, Páter Károly utca 1, H-2100 Gödöllo, Hungary
Monika Keisham
Department of Botany, University of Delhi, New Delhi 110007, India
Kaushal Kumar Bhati
Louvain Institute of Biomolecular Science, Catholic University of Louvain, B-1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
Sun Tae Kim
Department of Plant Bioscience, Pusan National University, Miryang 50463, Korea
Ravi Gupta
Department of Botany, School of Chemical and Life Sciences, Jamia Hamdard, Hamdard Nagar, New Delhi 110062, India
Salinity stress is one of the major threats to agricultural productivity across the globe. Research in the past three decades, therefore, has focused on analyzing the effects of salinity stress on the plants. Evidence gathered over the years supports the role of ethylene as a key regulator of salinity stress tolerance in plants. This gaseous plant hormone regulates many vital cellular processes starting from seed germination to photosynthesis for maintaining the plants’ growth and yield under salinity stress. Ethylene modulates salinity stress responses largely via maintaining the homeostasis of Na+/K+, nutrients, and reactive oxygen species (ROS) by inducing antioxidant defense in addition to elevating the assimilation of nitrates and sulfates. Moreover, a cross-talk of ethylene signaling with other phytohormones has also been observed, which collectively regulate the salinity stress responses in plants. The present review provides a comprehensive update on the prospects of ethylene signaling and its cross-talk with other phytohormones to regulate salinity stress tolerance in plants.
