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Abstract

The productivity of plants is greatly affected by vari- ous environmental stresses. Soil salinity affects plant growth and development by way of osmotic stress, – injurious –effects of toxic Na+ and Cl ions and to some 2– 2+ extent Cl and SO4 of Mg and nutrient imbalance – caused by excess of Na+ and Cl ions. Salinity stress response is multigenic, as a number of processes in- volved in the tolerance mechanism are affected, such as various compatible solutes/osmolytes, polyamines, reactive oxygen species and antioxidant defence mecha- nism, ion transport and compartmentalization of inju- rious ions. Various genes/cDNAs encoding proteins involved in the above-mentioned processes have been identified and isolated. The role of genes/cDNAs en- coding proteins involved in regulating other genes/pro- teins, signal transduction process involving hormones like ABA, JA and polyamines, and strategies to improve salinity stress tolerance have also been discussed.