Effects of tonoplast Na+/H+ antiporters gene silence on leaf stomata characteristics of Zygophyllum xanthoxylum

The stomata characteristics of different Zygophyllum xanthoxylum lines including wild type（WT）and ZxNHXsilenced lines（L2 and L7）using posttranscriptional gene silencing were analyzed. Under 50 mmolL-1 NaCl treatment, 4 more hours was required for stomatal aperture of ZxNHXsilenced lines reached to peak value compared with WT. Under -0.5 MPa osmotic stress treatment, the peak value of stomatal aperture in L7 lines significantly decreased by 12% compared with that of WT. Under control conditions, the stomatal size of L7 lines significantly reduced and 6 more hours was required for stomatal aperture reached to peak value compared with WT. Leaf tissue water contents in ZxNHXsilenced lines were always significantly lower than that in WT under all the treatments, especially under 50 mmolL-1 NaCl treatment, leaf tissue water content of L7 lines was 40% less than that of WT. These results suggested ZxNHX regulated stomatal activities by controlling leaf water status of Z. xanthoxylum.