Salinity Tolerance Mechanisms in Turfgrass Species

Turfgrasses exhibit a suite of adaptations that allow survival and function in saline environments, encompassing morphological, physiological, biochemical and molecular strategies. Morphologically, some species develop specialised salt glands or exhibit succulence and altered root architecture to limit ion entry. Physiologically, osmotic adjustment through the accumulation of compatible solutes and efficient ion exclusion at the root–soil interface maintain water uptake under high external salt. Biochemically, enhanced activity of antioxidant enzymes mitigates oxidative damage induced by salt‐driven reactive oxygen species, while shifts in the K+/Na+ ratio protect enzymatic and photosynthetic machinery. At the molecular level, transcriptome and proteome studies have uncovered key transporters, transcription factors and signalling components that regulate ion homeostasis and stress signalling, and genetic mapping reveals loci underlying salt tolerance. Together these mechanisms underpin breeding and management of turfgrasses for use with saline or recycled irrigation water, offering sustainable ground cover in arid and coastal regions worldwide.

Research from Nature Portfolio

High‐resolution genetic maps of a halophytic warm‐season turfgrass have been constructed using a genotyping‐by‐sequencing approach, yielding more than a thousand markers per parental linkage map. Comparative analyses demonstrated extensive colinearity with a related cereal genome, identified species‐specific chromosomal inversions and established marker‐trait associations for salt tolerance. These genetic resources lay the groundwork for quantitative trait locus mapping and marker‐assisted selection of salinity‐adapted turfgrass cultivars.

Salinity Tolerance Mechanisms in Turfgrass Species publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in salinity tolerance mechanisms in turfgrass species across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Halophyte: A plant species that naturally thrives in environments with high salt concentrations.

Osmotic adjustment: Accumulation of compatible solutes (e.g., proline, glycine betaine) to maintain cellular water balance under osmotic stress.

Ion homeostasis: Regulation of intracellular ion concentrations, particularly maintaining low cytosolic Na+ and adequate K+ levels.

Vacuolar sequestration: Compartmentalisation of excess ions into vacuoles to prevent cytoplasmic toxicity.

Salt gland: A specialised epidermal structure that excretes excess salt onto the leaf surface.

Genotyping-by-sequencing: A high-throughput method that generates genome-wide genetic markers for linkage mapping and association studies.

Proteomics: Large-scale study of proteins, their expression levels and modifications, to understand functional responses under stress.

Antioxidant enzymes: Proteins such as superoxide dismutase and catalase that neutralise reactive oxygen species generated during salt stress.

References

1. Turfgrass Salinity Stress and Tolerance—A Review. Plants (2023).
2. High Density Genetic Maps of Seashore Paspalum Using Genotyping-By-Sequencing and Their Relationship to The Sorghum Bicolor Genome. Scientific Reports (2019).
3. Bermudagrass Responses and Tolerance to Salt Stress by the Physiological, Molecular Mechanisms and Proteomic Perspectives of Salinity Adaptation. Agronomy (2023).
4. Evaluation of the tolerance and forage quality of different ecotypes of seashore paspalum. Frontiers in Plant Science (2022).