Data_Sheet_2_Overexpression of NtSOS2 From Halophyte Plant N. tangutorum Enhances Tolerance to Salt Stress in Arabidopsis.xlsx

The Salt Overly Sensitive (SOS) signaling pathway is key in responding to salt stress in plants. SOS2, a central factor in this pathway, has been studied in non-halophytes such as Arabidopsis and rice, but has so far not been reported in the halophyte Nitraria tangutorum. In order to better understand how Nitraria tangutorum acquires its tolerance for a high salt environment, here, the NtSOS2 was cloned from Nitraria tangutorum, phylogenetic analyses showed that NtSOS2 is homologous to the SOS2 of Arabidopsis and rice. Gene expression profile analysis showed that NtSOS2 localizes to the cytoplasm and cell membrane and it can be induced by salt stress. Transgenesis experiments showed that exogenous expression of NtSOS2 reduces leaf mortality and improves the germination rate, biomass and root growth of Arabidopsis under salt stress. Also, exogenous expression of NtSOS2 affected the expression of ion transporter-related genes and can rescue the phenotype of sos2-1 under salt stress. All these results revealed that NtSOS2 plays an important role in plant salt stress tolerance. Our findings will be of great significance to further understand the mechanism of salt tolerance and to develop and utilize molecular knowledge gained from halophytes to improve the ecological environment.

盐胁迫信号传导途径（SOS途径）在植物应对盐胁迫中起着关键作用。SOS2是该途径中的核心因子，已在非盐生植物如拟南芥和水稻中得到研究，但迄今为止尚未在盐生植物梭梭（Nitraria tangutorum）中报道。为了更好地理解梭梭如何获得对高盐环境的耐受性，本研究从梭梭中克隆了NtSOS2，系统发育分析显示NtSOS2与拟南芥和水稻的SOS2具有同源性。基因表达谱分析表明，NtSOS2定位于细胞质和细胞膜，并且可以被盐胁迫诱导。转基因实验显示，在盐胁迫下外源表达NtSOS2可以降低拟南芥的叶片死亡率，并提高其萌发率、生物量和根系生长。此外，外源表达NtSOS2还影响了离子转运相关基因的表达，并在盐胁迫下能够挽救sos2-1的表型。所有这些结果均表明NtSOS2在植物盐胁迫耐受性中发挥着重要作用。我们的发现对于进一步理解盐耐受机制以及开发和利用从盐生植物中获得的分子知识以改善生态环境具有重要的科学意义。