Sodium transport in plants: A critical review

Abstract

Sodium (Na) toxicity is one of the most formidable challenges for crop production world-wide. Nevertheless, despite decades of intensive research, the pathways of Na+ entry into the roots of plants under high salinity are still not definitively known. Here, we review critically the current paradigms in this field. In particular, we explore the evidence supporting the role of nonselective cation channels, potassium transporters, and transporters from the HKT family in primary sodium influx into plant roots, and their possible roles elsewhere. We furthermore discuss the evidence for the roles of transporters from the NHX and SOS families in intracellular Na+ partitioning and removal from the c..