Early seedling development of Medicago truncatula genotypes under salt stress in relationship with seed dry weight and storage protein content

In order to have more information on early seedling development under salinity stress (one of the important factors limiting plant productivity and also crop growth), it will be interesting to examine radicle growth in comparison to plumule elongation under different salinity stress conditions. In this study, we assessed the variability of four genotypes of the plant model Medicago truncatula under four levels of salt stress (distilled water as control 0, 68, 102 and 137 mM) of sodium chloride (NaCl) solution. Several studies are focalised in root or radical development because is the most sensitive part of the plant and controls rapid transmission information to other plant parts. In order to evaluate the degree of radicle sensitivity, we measured the plumule length to radicle length ratio (PL: RL ratio). Also, we investigated the relationship between storage protein content, seed weight and salinity tolerance degree. The results show that Tru 131 and Tru 673 genotypes, with a low ratio (radicle more resistant (longer) than plumule) and high storage protein content, are more tolerant to salinity stress than the sensitive genotypes Tru 26 and Jemalong that had a high ratio (radicle more sensitive (shorter) than plumule) and low storage protein content. We concluded that the most tolerant genotype (Tru 131) with rich protein and high seed weight can be cultivated in saline and semi-arid areas in Algeria and Mediterranean regions to improve the legumes productivity. Although, the genotype (Tru 673) that had a low seed vigour, appear tolerant (high PL:RL ratio) despite coming from ‘aged seeds’. This additional data shows the influence of ‘aged seeds’ on seed vigour and root growth because seeds contain all of the genetic resources of the plant.   Key words: Medicago truncatula, salt stress, seed weight, storage protein content, seed vigour, aged seeds.