Factors associated with determination of root ²²Na (+) influx in the salt accumulation halophyte Suaeda maritima

Salinity is an increasing problem for agricultural production worldwide. The result of low-affinity Na(+) uptake is toxic to the cytoplasm of most crop plants. Nevertheless, the pathways for this low-affinity Na(+) uptake are still uncertain. In this work we used ²²Na(+) isotope tracing technology to investigate factors associated with determination of root ²²Na(+) influx in the salt accumulation halophyte Suaeda maritima. We found that a 2 min of exposure to the ²²Na(+) labeled uptake solution was optimal for determining ²²Na(+) influx into excised roots of S. maritima and that 7 min of blotting is suitable in ²²Na(+) influx experiments. ²²Na(+) influx did not increase linearly with the increasing external Na(+) concentration, in the range tested, of 2 to 300 mM NaCl. But root ²²Na(+) influx and root Na(+) concentration were well correlated. ²²Na(+) influx into excised roots of S. maritima was not, however, well correlated with the plant size. All the above results indicated further that this ²²Na(+) isotope influx procedure is a good method for quantify Na(+) uptake rate by the roots of the salt accumulation halophyte.