Calcium effects on root cell wall composition and ion contents in two soybean cultivars under salinity stress

An, P., Li, X., Zheng, Y., Eneji, A. E. and Inanaga, S. 2014. Calcium effects on root cell wall composition and ion contents in two soybean cultivars under salinity stress. Can. J. Plant Sci. 94: 733–740. It has been widely suggested that calcium (Ca) application ameliorates salt stress, but characteristic changes in root cell wall due to Ca application under saline conditions are poorly documented. Our objectives were: (1) to determine the effect of Ca on root cell wall composition, using two soybean cultivars differing in sensitivity to salt stress and (2) to understand the relationship between the internal effects of sodium–calcium interaction on the root cell wall. Uniform seedlings were transplanted into mixed solutions of NaCl (0, 40 mM,) and CaCl2 (0, 0.5, 2 mM). Root lengths were measured after an exposure of 14, 24 and 40 h to the treatments and cell wall analysis performed for total sugars, uronic acid and ion contents. Without salinity stress, Ca application caused no significant changes in roo...