Toxic ions begin to accumulate in tissues of salt-stressed plants after the initial osmotic shock. In glycophytes, the ability to mobilize or sequester excess ions define tolerance mechanisms. Mobilization and sequestration of excess Na+ involves three transport mechanisms facilitated by the plasma membrane H+/Na+ antiporter (SOS1), vacuolar H+/Na+ antiporter (NHX1), and Na+/K+ transporter in vascular tissues (HKT1). While the cultivated Gossypium hirsutum (upland cotton) is significantly more tolerant to salinity relative to other crops, the critical factors contributing to the observed variation for tolerance potential across the germplasm has not been fully scrutinized. In this study, the spatio-temporal patterns of Na+ accumulation at different severities of salt stress were investigated across a minimal comparative panel representing the spectrum of genetic diversity across the improved cotton germplasm. The goal was to define the importance of integrative or network effects relative to the direct effects of Na+ homeostasis mechanisms mediated by GhHKT1, GhSOS1, and GhNHX1. Multi-dimensional physio-morphometric attributes were investigated in univariate and multivariate statistical contexts, as well as the relationship between variables using structural equation modeling. Results showed that mobilized or sequestered Na+ may contribute to the baseline salinity tolerance, but the observed variance in overall tolerance potential across a meaningful subset of the germplasm were more significantly associated to antioxidant capacity, maintenance of stomatal conductance, chlorophyll content, and divalent cations, and other physiological interactions occurring through complex networks.

Physiological networks governing salinity tolerance potentials in Gossypium hirsutum germplasm