Unveiling part of the salt exclusion mechanism in the super crop Quinoa

June 25, 2025

Paving the way for the development of salt-tolerant crops

A collaborative research group from the Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences, Nagoya University, Kyoto University, and the RIKEN CSRS has uncovered part of the long-standing mystery behind the salt exclusion mechanism of quinoa, a super crop with remarkable salt tolerance.

Quinoa is not only highly nutritious but also capable of growing in harsh environments, making it a promising food source under increasingly severe climate conditions. To understand why quinoa can thrive under such extreme conditions, we have long been studying its salt tolerance mechanisms. In this study, we demonstrated that young quinoa seedlings can grow without inhibition even under salt concentrations equivalent to seawater (600 mM NaCl), which would normally be lethal to most other plants. Furthermore, we found that the degree of salt accumulation in the aerial parts of quinoa varies depending on the geographic origin of the line. Lines cultivated in the highly saline soils around the Uyuni Salt Flats showed lower salt accumulation in their shoots compared to those from other regions, suggesting that these lines may have evolved mechanisms to limit salt uptake in the aboveground tissues. In addition, the study revealed that three sodium transporters are involved in the process of salt exclusion in quinoa. These findings are expected to pave the way for developing salt-tolerant crops by leveraging quinoa’s remarkable salt tolerance mechanisms.

 

Original article

Frontiers in Plant Science　doi: 10.3389/fpls.2025.1597647

Y. Kobayashi, R. Sugita, M. Fujita, Y. Yasui, Y. Murata, T. Ogata, Y. Nagatoshi, Y. Fujita,

"CqHKT1 and CqSOS1 mediate genotype-dependent Na⁺ exclusion under high salinity conditions in quinoa".

Contact

Miki FUjita
Senior Technical Scientist
Mass Spectrometry and Microscopy Unit