Chemical compound improves resistance to salinity stress

December 24, 2015

Regulates histone modification and strengthens salt discharge

A RIKEN CSRS research group has discovered a compound that helps improve the ability to discharge salt and increases resistance to salinity stress.

The group focused on compounds involved in the regulation of epigenetic modifications due to environmental stresses such as salinity, searching for epigenetic modification inhibitors in Arabidopsis that enhance stress tolerance. Their findings showed that the histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor Ky-2 strengthens salinity stress tolerance. Researchers elucidated that the Ky-2 induces expression of AtSOS1, which functions to discharge sodium ions, resulting in increased salt discharge and thereby strengthening plant tolerance for salinity stress.

These research findings suggest possibilities for the developing a spray that would induce resistance to salinity stress, increasing crop yields on farm lands suffering from salt damage.

Original article

Plant & Cell Physiology doi: 10.1093/pcp/pcv199

K. Sako, J. -M. Kim, A. Matsui, K. Nakamura, M. Tanaka, M. Kobayashi, K. Saito, N. Nishino, M. Kusano, T. Taji, M. Yoshida, M. Seki,

"Ky-2, a histone deacetylase inhibitor, enhances high-salinity stress tolerance in Arabidopsis thaliana".

Contact

Motoaki Seki; Team Leader

Kaori Sako; Postdoctoral Researcher

Plant Genomic Network Research Team