土壤碱胁迫广泛存在，却被人忽视而与“盐碱胁迫”混淆。盐胁迫主要包括离子毒害和渗透胁迫，而碱胁迫与盐胁迫相比还涉及高pH伤害。我们的前期工作已经证明，发生在根部的pH调节过程可能是植物抗碱的关键所在。抗碱盐生植物是研究根pH调节的理想材料。然而，由于基因组信息缺乏，盐生植物抗碱研究进展缓慢。近期，项目申请者完成了抗碱盐生牧草星星草的全基因组测序工作，获得了高质量的基因组序列，这为揭示该物种精细的耐碱机制带来了希望。本项目拟使用星星草作为实验材料，把碱敏感植物小麦作为对比材料，研究碱胁迫下星星草根调节pH的部位、方式和结构基础。同时对根进行转录组、蛋白组分析，联结生理学结果，尝试预测或推测碱胁迫下星星草根pH调节的分子途径。本项目在国内外属首次使用高质量基因组序列, 从生理、分子和细胞多水平研究盐生植物耐碱机制。本项目将预测一些关键耐碱基因，可为深入研究耐碱分子机制和作物抗性改良提供基因资源

Although soil alkali stress widely influences the agricultural production of the world, it is often ignored and included in "soil salt-alkali stress". Salt stress in the soil generally involves osmotic stress and ion injury. Comparison of alkali stress with salt stress reveals an added high-pH effect of alkali stress. Our previous work has showed that the pH adjustments in vivo and outside roots are the vital mechanisms for plants to resist alkali stress. Alkali resistant halophyte is ideal species for studying root pH adjustment. Unfortunately, to date, no genome of halophyte is available, which renders us to difficultly investigate root pH adjustment mechanisms. Recently, we sequenced and annotated the genome of halophyte Puccinellia tenuiflora, and obtained the high quality genome sequences. This should help us to uncover the mechanisms underlying alkali tolerance of this species. In this work, we are planning to use P. tenuiflora as experimental material and wheat as control material. The position, process, and structural basis of the root pH-regulation under alkali stress will be surveyed. In addition, we also will conduct RNAseq and proteome analysises. We expect to connect physiological results and differentially expressed gene/protein results, and to reveal possible molecular mechanisms underlying the root pH-regulation under alkali stress. Our work will first utilize high quality genome sequences of extreme halophyte to investigate the alkali tolerance mechanisms at physiological, molecular and cellular levels. Our work will probably find some key alkali tolerance genes, and provide some useful information for crop alkali stress tolerance improvement.