Salt tolerance in a neotropical orchid in the absence of local adaptation to salt spray

de Lima, Thales M., Silva, Simone F., Ribeiro, Rafael V., Sánchez-Vilas, Julia ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4049-8443 and Pinheiro, Fabio 2024. Salt tolerance in a neotropical orchid in the absence of local adaptation to salt spray. American Journal of Botany 111 (7) , e16373. 10.1002/ajb2.16373 Item availability restricted.

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Abstract

Premise Salt tolerance has rarely been investigated regionally in the neotropics and even more rarely in Orchidaceae, one of the largest families. Therefore, investigating local adaptation to salt spray and its physiological basis in Epidendrum fulgens, a neotropical orchid species, brings important new insights. Methods We assessed the degree of salt tolerance in E. fulgens by testing whether coastal populations are more tolerant to salt, which could point to local adaptation. To understand the physiological basis of such salt tolerance, we exposed wild-collected individuals to salt spray for 60 days, then measured leaf expansion, osmotic potential, sodium leaf concentration, chlorophyll leaf index, chlorophyll fluorescence, relative growth rate, and pressure–volume curves. Results There is no local adaptation to salt spray since both inland and coastal plants have a high tolerance to salt stress. This tolerance is explained by the ability to tolerate high concentrations of salt in leaf tissues, which is related to the high succulence displayed by this species. Conclusions We showed an unprecedented salt tolerance level for an orchid species, highlighting our limited knowledge of that trait beyond the traditional studied groups. Another interesting finding is that salt tolerance in E. fulgens is linked to succulence, is widespread, and is not the result of local adaptation. We suggest that E. fulgens and its allied species could be an interesting group to explore the evolution of important traits related to tolerance to salt stress, like succulence.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Biosciences
Publisher:	Botanical Society of America
ISSN:	0002-9122
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	18 July 2024
Date of Acceptance:	16 July 2024
Last Modified:	08 Nov 2024 21:00
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/170663

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