Salicornia: a halophyte with unique salt-tolerant genes for developing future climate-resilient crops, high-value bioproducts and saline land utilization.

Abstract

Salicornia, a stem-succulent halophyte, grows naturally in coastal areas with high salinity and can complete its life cycle in extreme environmental conditions due to its high adaptability to salt, drought, and temperature stress. It survives in saline environments through morpho-anatomical modifications, ion homeostasis, biochemical changes, osmolyte accumulation, and antioxidant defense mechanisms. Its growth and adaptation to salinity are further supported by a variety of rhizospheric and endophytic microbes. Salicornia is a valuable source of herbal salt, food, feed, medicines, and biofuel due to its high content of essential fatty acids, minerals, and bioactive compounds. Its large-scale cultivation on coastal and saline wastelands contributes to sustainable blue and green economies by aiding in soil reclamation and carbon sequestration. The Salicornia derived genes and biomass offer significant potential for developing climate-resilient crops and value-added bioproducts. Recent genomic and transcriptomic advances, including chromosome-scale and telomere-to-telomere genome assemblies, have provided valuable resources for understanding molecular adaptation to salinity. Several transcription factors (TFs), transporters, and stress-responsive genes have been identified and studied to understand the molecular mechanisms underlying salinity tolerance across different Salicornia species, and few of these genes have been functionally validated using transgenic techniques demonstrating enhanced salinity, drought, or osmotic stress tolerance. This review provides a comprehensive synthesis of current knowledge on the distribution, genetic diversity, cultivation, economic importance, and multi-level mechanisms underlying salinity tolerance in Salicornia, while highlighting recent genomic resources, functional validation studies, plant-microbe interactions, and their potential application in developing salinity-resilient crops.

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