Biochemical conditionality of differentiation of halophytes by the type of regulation of salt metabolism in Prieltonye

The elemental composition and the content of pigments, proteins, lipids, free amino acids, and antioxidants of five wild halophyte species in Prieltonye were investigated. Plants differed in systematic location (Chenopodiaceae, Plumbaginaceae, Asteraceae), the type of regulation of salt metabolism (eu-, cryno, and glycohalophytes), life form (annual grasses, shrubs), and the water regime (mesoxerophytes, xeromesophytes). A decrease in the ion content of K, Na, Ca among Suaeda linifolia > Salicornia perennans > Halocnemum strobilaceum > Limonium gmelinii > Artemisia santonica was noted. The reversed pattern was observed for the content of C. The increase in the total content of C in glyco-, cryno-, and euhalophytes was accompanied by an increased content of total and membrane lipids, proteins, and pigments. Halophytes varied considerably in terms of components of the antioxidant system—the content of endogenous proline, soluble protein, and lipid peroxidation and the level of total SOD activity. Cluster analysis revealed that the differentiation of the studied halophyte species by the type of regulation of salt metabolism was mostly determined by biochemical parameters.