ABA: Role in Plant Signaling Under Salt Stress

Salt stress in soil and water is one of the primary abiotic stresses which limit plant growth and productivity, especially in arid and semi-arid regions. Salinity is responsible for other stresses such as ion toxicity, and nutrient imbalances. During the development of salt stress within the plant, all the major processes such as photosynthesis, protein synthesis, energy and lipid metabolisms are affected. In terms of salinity tolerance, plants are classified as halophytes, which can grow and reproduce under high salinity (>400 mM NaCl), and glycophytes, which cannot survive high salinity. Most of the grain crops and vegetables like bean, eggplant, corn, potato and sugarcane are natrophobic (glycophytes) and are highly susceptible to soil salinity.