Salt-Induced Ultrastructural Damage to Mitochondria in Root Tips of a Salt-Sensitive Ecotype of<i>Agrostis Stolonifera</i>

Abstract

In root tips of a salt-sensitive ecotype of &lt;it&gt;Agrostis stolonifera&lt;/it&gt;, treatment with 100 mmol I−1 NaCl for two weeks resulted in conspicuous structural damage to mitochondria, which became deficient in cristae, swelled and vacuolated. A salt-tolerant ecotype maintained normal root tip mitochondrial structure under the same salt treatment, in spite of accumulating higher levels of sodium and chloride in its roots. The subcellular distribution of chloride, as judged by electron microscopy after precipitation with silver ions, was identical in both ecotypes.