2025/08/03 by Xinxin Guo, Tianle Shi, Jia Zhou +4 · 1 voice
Agricultural and Biological Sciences · #Plant Physiology and Cultivation Studies #Plant nutrient uptake and metabolism #Postharvest Quality and Shelf Life Management
paper · doi:10.1080/14620316.2025.2541244
openalex publication_date 2025/08/03 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/15
Sodium ion (Na+) transport in plants directly affects salt tolerance. Therefore, identifying key Na+ transport genes is important for breeding salt-tolerant plants. In this study, a total of 97 genes were identified in six transporter families in apple (Malus domestica (Suckow) Borkh.) through a genome-wide screening for Na+/K+ transport-related genes. Under high-salt stress, 12 genes were up-regulated in the roots. Notably, Na+/Ca2+ exchanger-like protein 4 (MdNCL4) showed the strongest positive response to salt stress and the highest root-tissue specific expression. We determined that MdNCL4 localised to the plasma membrane in Arabidopsis protoplasts; heterologous expression showed function complementation in yeast Na+ efflux mutants. This supported its function in transporting Na+ from the cytoplasm to the extracellular space. Association analysis showed that MdNCL4 co-expressed with known salt-tolerance genes, including NAC transcription factor (NAC69) and dehydrin 1 (DHN1). These findings enrich current understanding of Na+ transport and may be useful for salt-tolerant breeding of apple rootstocks.