The seminars take place on the Montpellier Institut Agro/INRAE Campus of La Gaillarde (2, place P. Viala Montpellier)

Wednesday, may 22, 2024 at 2pm – Amphi 206 (Coeur d’Ecole)

Gayatri Venkataraman

M. S. Swaminathan Research Foundation, Chennai, India

Exploring salinity tolerance related traits in halophytic wild rice O. coarctata: The role of rhizomatous tissues

Among twenty species within the genus Oryza, Oryza coarctata is the only  halophytic wild rice species known. This allotetraploid  species occurs as a mangrove associate along coastal regions of India and Bangladesh. O. coarctata is a perennial species that has underground rhizomes that give rise to new propagules under favourable conditions. This presentation will  highlight the role of the substantial rhizomatous tissues in contributing to  salinity tolerance in O. coarctata. Using histochemical staining, expression analysis and electrophysiological data we show development of differential apoplastic barriers in rhizomatous tissues  correlates with ion movement towards leaf tissues. The presentation will also highlight how aerial proximal internodes in O. coarctata appear to act as ‘traffic controllers’, sending required amounts of Na+ and K+ into developing leaves for osmotic adjustment and turgor-driven growth, while more deeply positioned internodes assume a Na+ buffering/storage role.