Cellular mechanisms of salt adaptation. Nicotiana tabacum BY-2 cell cultures as model

Cell adaptation to high salinity levels implicates the modification of different cellular, physiological and molecular mechanisms. However, studies about the cellular mechanisms that are implicated in salt adaptation are scarce in the literature. Tobacco BY-2 cell cultures are very homogeneous and are characterized by a continuous cell grow and high proliferation rate. These features make these cells a good model system. For this study, we have obtained a stable tobacco cell line adapted to grow at 250 mM of NaCl. To obtain a general view of this process, we have followed a microarray technique. Gene expression was analyzed using the Affymetrix microarray technique. We have used a microarray designed by Edwards et al. (2010) in tobacco (Total probes: 43768). Comparison between a control cell line of tobacco BY-2 cells and a salt adapted cell line to 250 mM of NaCl. The cell cultures have been been grown in LS medium and in darkness at 26C. 100 mg of fresh tobacco cell growing at exponential phase was grinded thoroughly in liquid nitrogen with a mortar and pestle. Total RNA was extracted with the RNeasy Plant Mini Kit from Qiagen according to the supplier's instruction. These were then hybridized to Affymetrix chips.