Soil salinization is a serious agricultural issue that is severely affecting crop production across the world. Salt induced stresses are mainly included osmotic and ionic stresses, which could lead to other stresses e.g., oxidative stress in plants. The evolved plant mechanisms in salt tolerance are categorized into osmotic tolerance and ionic homeostasis mediated by ion exclusion and ions sequestration into vacuole. Osmotic tolerance involves long-distance signaling which still has many unknowns in crops, while ionic homeostasis is achieved by Na⁺/K⁺/H⁺ transporters and H⁺-pumps. Besides, the mechanisms of salt tolerance are regulated by various signaling pathways and transcription factors. A better understanding on the mechanisms of salt tolerance and its involved candidate genes is a prerequisite for increasing/maintaining yield potential of crops in saline soils. This review focuses on various mechanisms, signaling pathways and transcriptional regulations of salt tolerance in crops. We also review the various examples of underlying candidate genes that have been engineered to develop the salt tolerant crops, and may also have worth in next crop breeding.

土壤盐渍化是一个严重的农业问题，正在严重影响全世界的农作物生产。盐诱导的胁迫主要包括渗透胁迫和离子胁迫，这可能导致其他胁迫，例如植物中的氧化胁迫。在耐盐性方面进化的植物机制可分为渗透性耐受和通过离子排斥和离子隔离进入液泡介导的离子稳态。渗透耐受性涉及长距离信号传导，在农作物中仍存在许多未知数，而离子稳态则通过Na ⁺ / K ⁺ / H ⁺转运蛋白和H ⁺-泵。此外，耐盐性的机制还受多种信号通路和转录因子的调控。更好地了解耐盐性及其相关候选基因的机制，是增加/保持盐碱地作物单产潜力的前提。这篇综述着重于农作物耐盐性的各种机制，信号传导途径和转录调控。我们还将回顾已被设计用于开发耐盐作物的潜在候选基因的各种示例，这些潜在基因在下一步作物育种中也可能有价值。