Unraveling salt stress effects in guard cells of salt stressed Vicia faba L genotypes that contrast in their degree to salt tolerance

蚕豆(Vicia Faba L.)是人类和牲畜膳食蛋白质摄入量的重要来源，通常在土壤性质有限的地点种植，即灌溉或高盐负荷的旱地农业。大约30%的灌溉农田受到盐碱化的影响。因此，解开生理适应机制，从而更好地理解耐盐性，是提高迄今对盐分敏感的作物耐盐性的重要科学目标。蚕豆是一种盐敏性作物。然而，可以获得的遗传物质表明蚕豆的耐盐性程度存在梯度。这使得能够使用属于同一物种但耐盐性程度明显不同的基因型进行研究。这样的项目将揭示生理功能的不同特征，这些特征可能与对盐的不同反应存在因果关系。这项工作旨在通过向育种者提供关于大田豆类耐盐机制的新生理知识来实现作物生产的多样化。特别是，本项目旨在分析盐胁迫对气孔相关过程的影响。气孔功能障碍不可避免地会对生长发育产生严重的不利影响。因此，能够保持保卫细胞功能和水分状况的基因型在盐胁迫下可能有更好的表现。据我们所知，双子叶保卫细胞以前从未进行过这样的研究，目的是确定盐胁迫的生态生理调节机制。

Faba bean (Vicia faba L.) is an important source for dietary protein intake for both, human and livestock and is often cultivated at locations with limited soil properties, i.e. dry land agriculture with irrigation or high salt loadings. About 30% of the irrigated cropland are affected by salinity. Unraveling physiological adaptation mechanisms that lead to a better understanding of salt tolerance is therefore an important scientific objective for improving tolerance of hitherto salt sensitive crops. Faba bean is classified as a salt sensitive crop. Nevertheless, genetic material is available that shows a gradient in the degree of salt resistance of faba bean. This enables to conduct a study using genotypes that belonging to the same species but markedly vary in their degree of salt tolerance. Such a project will reveal contrasting features of physiological functions that may bear a causal relation to the differential response to salt. This work aims to diversify crop production by arming breeders with new physiological knowledge about tolerance mechanisms of field beans to salt. In particular, this project aims to analyze salt stress effects on stomata-related processes. Stomata dysfunctions would inevitably have severe detrimental effects on growth and development. Therefore, a genotype that is able to maintain guard cell functionality and water status might have a better performance under salt stress. To our best knowledge, dicotyl guard cells were never before subjected to such a study that aims to identify mechanisms underlying eco-physiological adjustments to salt stress.