The NHX-type Na+/H+ antiporters are key membrane proteins that maintain intracellular ion homeostasis under salt stress, whereas their functions in the desert tree Populus euphratica remain poorly understood. This study aimed to identify the NHX gene family in P. euphratica and to screen candidate genes for salt tolerance, and to verify the function of the screened gene through heterologous expression. Genome-wide identification, combined with analyses of gene structure, conserved motifs, physicochemical properties, and promoter cis-elements, yielded six PeNHX genes distributed on five scaffolds, all containing the Na+/H+_Exchanger domain; PeNHX1–5 clustered with the vacuolar AtNHX1–4, and PeNHX6 clustered with the endosomal AtNHX5/6. Under 300 mmol/L NaCl treatment, the expression of these genes in roots, stems, and leaves was quantified by qRT-PCR, and PeNHX3 showed the strongest induction among all members, reaching approximately 33-fold of the control level in stems at 12 h. A 35S:: PeNHX3-GFP fusion protein transiently expressed in Nicotiana benthamiana. PeNHX3-overexpression Arabidopsis lines obtained by the floral dip method exhibited significantly greater primary root length and shoot fresh weight than the wild type under 100 and 150 mmol/L NaCl. These results indicate that PeNHX3 improves salt tolerance when heterologously expressed and is a promising candidate gene for salt-tolerance breeding of woody plants.
| Published in | American Journal of Life Sciences (Volume 14, Issue 6) |
| DOI | 10.11648/j.ajls.20261406.11 |
| Page(s) | 143-153 |
| Creative Commons |
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited. |
| Copyright |
Copyright © The Author(s), 2026. Published by Science Publishing Group |
Populus euphratica, PeNHX3, Salt Stress, Na+/H+ Antiporter, Subcellular Localization, Heterologous Overexpression
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APA Style
He, P. (2026). Heterologous Overexpression of PeNHX3 from Populus euphratica Enhances Salt Stress Tolerance in Arabidopsis thaliana. American Journal of Life Sciences, 14(6), 143-153. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajls.20261406.11
ACS Style
He, P. Heterologous Overexpression of PeNHX3 from Populus euphratica Enhances Salt Stress Tolerance in Arabidopsis thaliana. Am. J. Life Sci. 2026, 14(6), 143-153. doi: 10.11648/j.ajls.20261406.11
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Download@article{10.11648/j.ajls.20261406.11,
author = {Peiyang He},
title = {Heterologous Overexpression of PeNHX3 from Populus euphratica Enhances Salt Stress Tolerance in Arabidopsis thaliana},
journal = {American Journal of Life Sciences},
volume = {14},
number = {6},
pages = {143-153},
doi = {10.11648/j.ajls.20261406.11},
url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajls.20261406.11},
eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajls.20261406.11},
abstract = {The NHX-type Na+/H+ antiporters are key membrane proteins that maintain intracellular ion homeostasis under salt stress, whereas their functions in the desert tree Populus euphratica remain poorly understood. This study aimed to identify the NHX gene family in P. euphratica and to screen candidate genes for salt tolerance, and to verify the function of the screened gene through heterologous expression. Genome-wide identification, combined with analyses of gene structure, conserved motifs, physicochemical properties, and promoter cis-elements, yielded six PeNHX genes distributed on five scaffolds, all containing the Na+/H+_Exchanger domain; PeNHX1–5 clustered with the vacuolar AtNHX1–4, and PeNHX6 clustered with the endosomal AtNHX5/6. Under 300 mmol/L NaCl treatment, the expression of these genes in roots, stems, and leaves was quantified by qRT-PCR, and PeNHX3 showed the strongest induction among all members, reaching approximately 33-fold of the control level in stems at 12 h. A 35S:: PeNHX3-GFP fusion protein transiently expressed in Nicotiana benthamiana. PeNHX3-overexpression Arabidopsis lines obtained by the floral dip method exhibited significantly greater primary root length and shoot fresh weight than the wild type under 100 and 150 mmol/L NaCl. These results indicate that PeNHX3 improves salt tolerance when heterologously expressed and is a promising candidate gene for salt-tolerance breeding of woody plants.},
year = {2026}
}
TY - JOUR T1 - Heterologous Overexpression of PeNHX3 from Populus euphratica Enhances Salt Stress Tolerance in Arabidopsis thaliana AU - Peiyang He Y1 - 2026/11/10 PY - 2026 N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajls.20261406.11 DO - 10.11648/j.ajls.20261406.11 T2 - American Journal of Life Sciences JF - American Journal of Life Sciences JO - American Journal of Life Sciences SP - 143 EP - 153 PB - Science Publishing Group SN - 2328-5737 UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajls.20261406.11 AB - The NHX-type Na+/H+ antiporters are key membrane proteins that maintain intracellular ion homeostasis under salt stress, whereas their functions in the desert tree Populus euphratica remain poorly understood. This study aimed to identify the NHX gene family in P. euphratica and to screen candidate genes for salt tolerance, and to verify the function of the screened gene through heterologous expression. Genome-wide identification, combined with analyses of gene structure, conserved motifs, physicochemical properties, and promoter cis-elements, yielded six PeNHX genes distributed on five scaffolds, all containing the Na+/H+_Exchanger domain; PeNHX1–5 clustered with the vacuolar AtNHX1–4, and PeNHX6 clustered with the endosomal AtNHX5/6. Under 300 mmol/L NaCl treatment, the expression of these genes in roots, stems, and leaves was quantified by qRT-PCR, and PeNHX3 showed the strongest induction among all members, reaching approximately 33-fold of the control level in stems at 12 h. A 35S:: PeNHX3-GFP fusion protein transiently expressed in Nicotiana benthamiana. PeNHX3-overexpression Arabidopsis lines obtained by the floral dip method exhibited significantly greater primary root length and shoot fresh weight than the wild type under 100 and 150 mmol/L NaCl. These results indicate that PeNHX3 improves salt tolerance when heterologously expressed and is a promising candidate gene for salt-tolerance breeding of woody plants. VL - 14 IS - 6 ER -
College of Life Sciences, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, China
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