Cryo-Microscopy & Food Security
- A gene that could help plants withstand increasingly salty soils has been identified by researchers at EPFL, the University of Lausanne (UNIL), and their Spanish collaborators.
- The team focused on the 'Salt Overly Sensitive 1' (SOS1) gene, first identified in 2000.
- "Our research provides the first visual proof, at the cellular scale, of how plants protect themselves against excess of sodium," said Priya Ramakrishna, a postdoctoral researcher at EPFL's...
Scientists are using cryo-microscopy to combat soil salinization, a major threat to global food security. Researchers have identified the SOS1 gene, and its role in plant salt tolerance, offering a potential solution for salt-affected arable land. The innovative CryoNanoSIMS technology provides visual evidence of how plant cells manage sodium, helping to foster salt resistant crops.Through the use of advanced microscopy,they produce images showing how SOS1 helps keep plants alive,shifting from removing sodium to loading it into vacuoles within the plant cells. This discovery from EPFL, UNIL, and Spanish collaborators provides a new perspective on plant nutrition. Read the details at News Directory 3, which explores the impacts of this innovative technology. Discover what’s next in the fight against soil salinization.
Gene Discovery May Help Plants Combat Soil Salinization
Updated June 19, 2025
A gene that could help plants withstand increasingly salty soils has been identified by researchers at EPFL, the University of Lausanne (UNIL), and their Spanish collaborators. Soil salinization, affecting 20% to 40% of arable land worldwide, poses a significant threat to global food security, according to the United Nations. The process, exacerbated by human activity and climate change, particularly rising sea levels, renders land infertile.
The team focused on the ‘Salt Overly Sensitive 1’ (SOS1) gene, first identified in 2000. Using CryoNanoSIMS,a cryogenic microscopy instrument,they produced images showing that under high salt stress,the SOS1 ion transporter shifts from removing sodium to loading it into vacuoles within plant cells. This sequestration helps protect the plant, though it is energy-intensive.
“Our research provides the first visual proof, at the cellular scale, of how plants protect themselves against excess of sodium,” said Priya Ramakrishna, a postdoctoral researcher at EPFL’s laboratory for Biological Geochemistry. She added that previous understanding of the mechanism was based on indirect evidence.
The CryoNanoSIMS instrument allowed the team to map individual plant cells and observe the storage of elements like potassium, magnesium, calcium, and sodium in root tips under varying salt stress conditions. They validated their findings by testing mutant samples lacking the SOS1 gene and by observing similar sodium transport in rice roots.
Anders Meibom, a professor at EPFL and UNIL, said the interdisciplinary collaboration allows matching location with function to understand previously unobservable mechanisms. Niko Geldner, head of the research team at UNIL, added that the CryoNanoSIMS technology promises to transform the understanding of plant nutrition beyond the problem of salt.
What’s next
The findings,published in Nature,could pave the way for developing crops more tolerant to saline conditions,bolstering food security in regions affected by soil salinization. Further research will focus on understanding why some plant species exhibit greater salt tolerance than others.