NHX8 — Sorghum bicolor

Summary

SORBI_3008G192900 (NHX8, also known as SOS1) on sorghum chromosome 8 encodes a cation/proton exchanger of the CPA1 family with lithium:proton antiporter, sodium:hydrogen exchanger and potassium:proton antiporter activities, as well as NAD ADP-ribosyltransferase and protein kinase activities. The gene is associated with vacuolar membrane and tonoplast localisation, lithium export and transport, sodium import, cell pH regulation, potassium ion membrane transport, and responses to superoxide, ozone, hydrogen peroxide and other reactive oxygen species. NHX8 is associated with salt tolerance, drought tolerance, yield traits, photosynthetic rate, stomatal resistance, plant height, root development and thickness, disease tolerance, high temperature stress response, jasmonic acid sensitivity, and programmed cell death. Studies of related genes in other species link the family to sodium exclusion, ion homeostasis and high-salinity stress tolerance.