Studies on Physiological Response to Salt Stress of Eelgrass (Zostera marina L.)

Abstract

In lab conditions, study on physiological response of eelgrass in different salinities (0, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60). Take permeability of plasma membrane, proline content and chlorophyll content as parameters. The results show, (1) High salinity leads to high permeability of plasma membrane making intracellular material spreads to external environment which cannot maintain the normal physiological activity, (2) with the increasing of salinity, proline is accumulated in eelgrass in a large scale, which has an toxic action on eelgrass, (3) with the increasing of salinity, the content of chlorophyll descends. Comprehensive the above results, (1) the suitable salinity range for eelgrass living is 10-30, (2) the most suitable salinity for eelgrass living is about 20, (3) when the salinity is greater than 40, eelgrass cannot grow normally, (4) when the salinity is greater than 60, the plasma membrane is seriously damaged and it has a high permeability, the cells of eelgrass cannot maintain the basic physiological activity.