A Developmental Window for Salt-Adaptation inSorghum bicolor

Following exposure to specific NaCl treatments, certain Sorghum bicolor genotypes developed increased salinity tolerance, ‘adaptation’, which was accompanied by a morphological modification in the development of one or several leaves. Adaptation differed from the more common response of the plant to salinity, ‘pre-existing resistance’, which rested on the prevalent tolerance mechanisms existing prior to the salinization treatment. Induction of adaptation was possible only during a specific time period of plant development. This time-limited capacity for adjustment to a changing environmental parameter, developmental window, resembled similar processes occurring in animal development.