Cytochemical localization of H+-ATPase and sub-cellular variation in mesophyll cells of salt-treated Cyclocarya paliurus seedlings

Cyclocarya paliurus seedlings of three provenances were treated with three levels of salt (0, 51.0 and 85.0 mmol/L NaCl) in a hydroponic system of a phytotron. The ultrastructural distribution of H⁺-ATPase activity and ultrastructural variation were investigated in mesophyll cells of C. paliurus seedlings after 12 or 20 days of salt treatment. The results showed that under normal growing conditions, H⁺-ATPase activity was low and localized mainly in the nucleus. After 12 days of salt treatment and an increase in salinity, we found that the greater the H⁺-ATPase activity, the lighter the damage suffered by mesophyll subcells after 20 days of salt treatment and the stronger the salt-adaptation ability of seedlings. The location of H⁺-ATPase, largely in the nucleus, indicated that salt-damage suffered by the seedlings was light, whereas its presence, mainly in the vacuoles, showed that salt-damage was more serious. Our preliminary conclusion is that the salt-tolerance level of C. paliurus seedlings for the three kinds of provenances was in the following order, from high to low: Huangshan seedlings from Anhui Province > Kunming seedlings from Yunnan Province > Jiujiang seedlings from Jiangxi Province.