Epigenetic mechanism explains how some plants cope with salt stress
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Due to artificial irrigation and rising temperatures, the concentration of salts (including sodium chloride, or "table salt") is increasing in soils worldwide. This is not only an environmental problem but also a challenge for agriculture. For example, increased salinity can disrupt the water balance of most plants (known as glycophytes) or even lead to their death, including crops.
Only in coastal regions do plants exist that have developed special salt-tolerance mechanisms. Such plants are known as halophytes. Yet glycophytes can also protect themselves against higher salt concentrations and drought to a certain extent.
To develop resistant crops, it is necessary to understand the various molecular regulatory mechanisms that play a role in the response to salt stress. A team led by Professor Iris Finkemeier from the Institute of Plant Biology and Biotechnology at the University of Münster (Germany) and Professor Motoaki Seki from the RIKEN research institute (Japan) has discovered a previously unknown mechanism. The paper is published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
A histone mark tied to stress
The researchers investigated the "histone code" and its role in adapting to salt stress in thale cress (Arabidopsis thaliana). Histones are proteins within the genome. They do not carry genetic information but regulate, along with other factors, whether and to what extent information in DNA is used to produce proteins. This epigenetic control is based on chemical modifications to histones, known as histone marks, which influence the interaction between histones, DNA and regulatory proteins. The researchers discovered a histone mark essential to the plant's stress response.
In thale cress, the enzyme "HDA19" plays an important role in regulating plant development, metabolism and stress response. The team demonstrated that this enzyme is responsible for removing the newly discovered histone mark, thereby influencing how the plant copes with high salt content. Plants lacking the enzyme are significantly more tolerant of saline soils.
A trade-off in tougher plants
In these plants, proteins also found in dry seeds ("late embryogenesis abundant (LEA) proteins") are produced in greater quantities. These proteins help plants adapt to drought. However, these plants grow slightly more slowly and produce reduced seed yields. These seedlings are well suited to deciphering the molecular basis of control. In addition to various molecular genetic methods, the team used high-resolution mass spectrometry and identified proteins regulated by HDA19.
Publication details
Florian Kotnik et al, HDA19-mediated deacetylation of histone H3.3 at lysines 27 and 36 regulates plant sensitivity to salt stress, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2026). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2534315123
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Citation: Epigenetic mechanism explains how some plants cope with salt stress (2026, July 15) retrieved 16 July 2026 from https://phys.org/news/2026-07-epigenetic-mechanism-cope-salt-stress.html
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