Fig. 6

Schematic model for thymol-induced salt tolerance in tobacco seedlings. Thymol deploys two strategies to increase the salt tolerance of tobacco seedlings. First, thymol promotes the scavenging of ROS by promoting the decomposition of GSNO and increasing the content of NO and GSH. Second, thymol activates NtNHX1 to stimulate vacuole retention of Na⁺, NtSOS1 to promote Na⁺ rejection, and NtHKT1 to promote the transfer of Na⁺ to xylem and phloem, thus helping to reduce the level of Na⁺ in leaves and roots. (Created with BioRender.com)