Abstract

The effect of saline stress (NaCl, 40, 80 and 160 mmol L-1 of NaCl) on growth, plant water status and leaf antioxidant enzyme activities was investigated in a commercial cultivar of cherry tomato (Solanum lycopersicum var. cerasiforme L.) and in a wild-related species collected in a salt-affected area of North Chile (Solanum chilense Dun.). Salt stress was applied in a nutrient solution at the vegetative stage during 40 days. The highest NaCl concentration reduced shoot relative growth, fresh and dry weight and leaf area in the cultivated S. lycopersicum but had less impact on S. chilense. Both species were able to efficiently perform osmotic adjustment but S. chilense also exhibited an increase in leaf succulence. The oxidative stress estimated through malondialdehyde quantification was always higher in the cultivated S. lycopersicum, both in the absence and in the presence of salt. Total superoxide dismutase activity (EC 1.15.1.1) increased in response to the highest dose of NaCl in S. chilense but remained constant in S. lycopersicum. Salinity induced an increase in ascorbate peroxidase (EC 1.11.1.11) in S. chilense but reduced it in S. lycopersicum. It is concluded that S. chilense displays efficient strategies to cope with high NaCl doses and that management of the oxidative status is a key mechanism allowing this species to tolerate salinity.