Single-cell measurements of the contributions of cytosolic Na+ and K+ to salt tolerance

Ion concentrations in the roots of two barley (Hordeum vulgare) varieties that differed in NaCl tolerance were compared after exposure to NaCl. Triple-barreled H+-, K+-, and Na+-selective microelectrodes were used to measure cytosolic activities of the three ions after 5 and 8 d of NaCl stress. In both varieties of barley, it was only possible to record successfully from root cortical cells because the epidermal cells appeared to be damaged. The data show that from the 1st d of full NaCl stress, there were differences in the way in which the two varieties responded. At 5 d, the tolerant variety maintained a 10-fold lower cytosolic Na+ than the more sensitive variety, although by 8 d the two varieties were not significantly different. At this time, the more tolerant variety was better at maintaining root cytosolic K+ in the high-NaCl background than was the more sensitive variety. In contrast to earlier work on K+-starved barley (Walker et al., 1996), there was no acidification of the cytosol associated with the decreased cytosolic K+ activity during NaCl stress. These single-cell measurements of cytosolic and vacuolar ion activities allow calculation of thermodynamic gradients that can be used to reveal (or predict) the type of active transporters at both the plasma membrane and tonoplast.