Table_1_Exposure to High Salinity During Seed Development Markedly Enhances Seedling Emergence and Fitness of the Progeny of the Extreme Halophyte Suaeda salsa.docx

Irrigation with 200 mM NaCl significantly increases vegetative and reproductive growth of the extreme halophyte Suaeda salsa. However, little is known about how the progeny of S. salsa plants grown under a continuous NaCl supply behave in terms of growth and seed set parameters. We investigated various plant growth and reproductive parameters of the progeny that germinated from seeds harvested from mother plants grown under 0 or 200 mM NaCl over three generations. Seedling emergence, plant height, stem diameter, total branch length, flowering branch length, flowering branch ratio, and seed production were all significantly enhanced in the progeny produced by mother plants grown with 200 mM NaCl compared to progeny of mother plants grown on low salinity conditions. Therefore, irrigation with 200 mM of NaCl is beneficial to seed development in the halophyte S. salsa and possibly contributes to population establishment in high salinity environments. Likewise, the prolonged absence of NaCl in the growth environment inhibits seed development, results in lower seed quality, and thus limits seedling growth of the progeny, thereby restricting S. salsa to a high salinity ecological niche.

以200毫摩尔浓度的氯化钠（NaCl）进行灌溉，可显著促进极端盐生植物盐地碱蓬（Suaeda salsa）的营养生长与生殖生长。然而，目前对于长期处于氯化钠供应环境下的盐地碱蓬子代，其生长与结籽参数表现如何，仍有待深入探究。本研究针对经三代栽培、分别种植于0或200毫摩尔氯化钠环境下的母株所结种子萌发获得的子代，对其多项生长与生殖参数展开了系统调查。相较于种植于低盐环境下的母株子代，由200毫摩尔氯化钠环境中母株繁育的子代，其出苗率、株高、茎粗、总枝长、开花枝长、开花枝占比及结籽量均得到显著提升。因此，以200毫摩尔氯化钠进行灌溉，有益于盐地碱蓬的种子发育，或可助力其在高盐环境中建立种群。同理，生长环境中长期缺乏氯化钠，会抑制种子发育、降低种子品质，进而限制子代幼苗生长，最终将盐地碱蓬限制在高盐生态位中。