Publication . Cordeiro, Matilde de Vasconcelos Manso Ataíde; Fevereiro, Pedro; Cook, Douglas
Worldwide, salinity is a major constraint for plant growth and reproduction
of both crop and wild species. Soil salinization is expected to aggravate,
particularly in a scenario of climate change. There is a need to implement
sustainable, long-term measurements to guarantee the global agricultural
production levels necessary for food security. The study of wild populations that
are viable and fertile in saline habitats has the potential to reveal adaptive
mechanisms bringing new insights for crop improvement. Here, methods of
molecular biology and ecology are used to investigate the genes and traits
responsible for salinity adaptation in natural populations of the model legume
Medicago truncatula.(...)
