Does Salinity Reduce Growth in Maize Root Epidermal Cells by Inhibiting Their Capacity for Cell Wall Acidification?

The reduction in growth of maize (Zea mays L.) seedling primary roots induced by salinization of the nutrient medium with 100 millimolar NaCl was accompanied by reductions in the length of the root tip elongation zone, the length of fully elongated epidermal cells, and the apparent rate of cell production: Each was partially restored when calcium levels in the salinized growth medium were increased from 0.5 to 10.0 millimolar. We investigated the possibility that the inhibition of elongation growth by salinity might be associated with an inhibition of cell wall acidification, such as that which occurs when root growth is inhibited by IAA. A qualitative assay of root surface acidification, using bromocresol purple pH indicator in agar, showed that salinized roots, with and without extra calcium, produced a zone of surface acidification which was similar to that produced by control roots. The zone of acidification began 1 to 2 millimeters behind the tip and coincided with the zone of cell elongation. The remainder of the root alkalinized its surface. Kinetics of surface acidification were assayed quantitatively by placing a flat tipped pH electrode in contact with the elongation zone. The pH at the epidermal surfaces of roots grown either with 100 millimolar NaCl (growth inhibitory), or with 10 millimolar calcium +/- NaCl (little growth inhibition), declined from 6.0 to 5.1 over 30 minutes. We conclude that NaCl did not inhibit growth by reducing the capacity of epidermal cells to acidify their walls.