Laterals take it better – Emerging and young lateral roots survive lethal salinity longer than the primary root in Arabidopsis

Plant responses to salinity have been extensively studied over the last decades. Despite the vast accumulated knowledge, the ways Arabidopsis lateral roots (LR) cope with lethal salinity has not been fully resolved. Here we compared the primary root (PR) and the LR responses during events leading to lethal salinity (NaCl 200 mM) in Arabidopsis. We found that the PR and young LR responded differently to lethal salinity: While the PR died, emerging and young LR’s remained strikingly viable. Moreover, “age acquired salt tolerance” (AAST) was observed in the PR. During the 2 days after germination (DAG) the PR was highly sensitive, but at 8 DAG there was a significant increase in the PR cell survival. Nevertheless, the young LR exhibited an opposite pattern and completely lost its salinity tolerance, as it elongated beyond 400 µm. Examination of several cell death signatures investigated in the young LR showed no signs of an active programmed cell death (PCD) during lethal salinity. However, Autophagic PCD (A-PCD) but not apoptosis-like PCD (AL-PCD) was found to be activated in the PR during the high salinity conditions. We further found that salinity induced NADPH oxidase activated ROS, which were more highly distributed in the young LR compared to the PR, is required for the improved viability of the LR during lethal salinity conditions. Our data demonstrated a position-dependent resistance of Arabidopsis young LR to high salinity. This response can lead to identification of novel salt stress coping mechanisms needed by agriculture during the soil salinization challenge.