This document discusses trehalose and salt tolerance in plants. It introduces trehalose, how it is synthesized, and how it aids plant survival during desiccation. Selaginella plants accumulate trehalose and can revive after drying out. The document also discusses the effects of salinity on plant health, including osmotic and ionic stresses. Plants have developed mechanisms to tolerate salt stress, including ion homeostasis, osmoprotectants, and antioxidant enzymes. Salt tolerance involves complex responses at multiple levels to control ion balance, osmotic regulation, and stress signaling.

2.  Introduction of trehalose
 Trehalose synthesis
 Introduction of salt tolerance
 Effects of salinity on plant health
 Physiological and biological mechanisms of
salt tolerance
 Conclusion

3. Introduction
 Trehalose (a-D-glucopyranosyl-1,1-a-D-
glucopyranoside)is a nonreducing disaccharide
formed through a 1-1 alpha bond linking two Glc
moieties.

4.  A variety of organisms synthesize this
compound, including plants, fungi, bacteria,
and invertebrate animals
 In those plants that accumulate trehalose, it
is most commonly believed to aid in their
ability to survive extended periods of
desiccation.

5.  In plants, the presence of trehalose is seen in
sunflower seeds, moonwort, Selaginella
plants and sea algae.
 within the plant kingdom, Selaginella
(sometimes called the resurrection plant),
which grows in desert and mountainous
areas, may be cracked and dried out, but
will turn green again and revive after rain
because of the function of trehalose.

6.  In the first step, UDP-Glc and Glc-6-P are
linked by T6P synthase (TPS) to form T6P.
The phosphate group is removed by T6P
phosphatase (TPP), resulting in trehalose.
 Trehalose is subsequently broken down into
two molecules of Glc by trehalase.

8.  Introduction
Salt tolerance of crops is the maximum salt
level a crop tolerates without losing its
productivity while it is affected negatively at
higher levels. The salt level is often taken as the
soil salinity or the salinity of the irrigation water.

9.  Osmotic stress in the initial stage of salinity
stress causes various physiological changes,
such as
 Interruption of membranes.
 Nutrient imbalance.
 Impairs the ability to detoxify reactive
oxygen species (ROS).
 Differences in the antioxidant enzymes .
 Decreased photosynthetic activity.
 Decrease in stomatal aperture.

10.  Salinity stress is also considered as a
hyperionic stress.
 One of the most detrimental effects of
salinity stress is the accumulation ofNa+ and
Cl− ions in tissues of plants exposed to soils
with high NaCl concentrations. Entry of both
Na+ and Cl− into the cells causes severe ion
imbalance and excess uptake might cause
significant physiological disorder(s).

11.  High Na+ concentration inhibits uptake of K+ ions
which is an essential element for growth and
development that results into lower productivity and
may even lead to death.
 In response to salinity stress, the production of ROS,
such as singlet oxygen, superoxide, hydroxyl radical,
and hydrogen peroxide, is enhanced .
 Salinity-induced ROS formation can lead to oxidative
damages in various cellular components such as
proteins, lipids, and DNA, interrupting vital cellular
functions of plants.

12.  Plants develop various physiological and
biochemical mechanisms in order to survive
in soils with high salt concentration.
Principle mechanisms include, but are not
limited to,
(1) ion homeostasis and compartmentalization.
(2) ion transport and uptake.
(3) Biosynthesis of osmoprotectants and
compatible solutes

13. (4) Activation of antioxidant enzyme
and synthesis of antioxidant compounds.
(5) Synthesis of polyamines
(6) Generation of nitric oxide (NO)
(7) Hormone modulation..

16.  Salinity tolerance involves a complex of
responses at molecular, cellular, metabolic,
physiological, and whole-plant levels.
 Extensive research through cellular, metabolic,
and physiological analysis has elucidated that
among various salinity responses, mechanisms or
strategies controlling ion uptake, transport and
balance, osmotic regulation, hormone
metabolism, antioxidant metabolism, and stress
signalling play critical roles in plant adaptation
to salinity stress.