Relationships between ion and chlorophyll accumulation in seeds and adaptation to saline environments in Suaeda salsa populations

The importance of ion and chlorophyll accumulation was evaluated in brown seeds of a Suaeda salsa population from an intertidal zone and one from a saline inland zone during seed development. The results showed that more NO3- and K+, but less Cl- and Na+ in leaves and stems were translocated to the embryos in the intertidal population than the inland population; more Cl- and Na+ were compartmentalized in the pericarps of the intertidal population compared to the inland population, which indicates that the two populations have different ability to accumulate ions in different plant parts. The embryos of fresh premature seeds contained chlorophyll and the embryos could release oxygen. The content of chlorophyll markedly decreased, and there was no oxygen production in the embryos of dry mature seeds in both populations. These characteristics may affect the distributions of the two S. salsa populations in their natural saline environments.