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Special Issue "Plant Responses to Heavy Metals: From Deficiency to Excess"

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A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Plant Sciences".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 November 2023 | Viewed by 2609

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Ilya Vladimirovich Seregin

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Guest Editor

K.A. Timiryazev Institute of Plant Physiology, Russian Academy of Sciences, 35 Botanicheskaya st., Moscow 127276, Russia
Interests: metal transport, localization and distribution in plants; mechanisms of metal hyperaccumulation and tolerance; development of histochemical methods for metal detection in plant tissues

Dr. Anna D. Kozhevnikova

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Guest Editor

K.A. Timiryazev Institute of Plant Physiology, Russian Academy of Sciences, 35 Botanicheskaya st., Moscow 127276, Russia
Interests: metal transport, localization and distribution in plants; mechanisms of metal hyperaccumulation; mechanisms of plant metal tolerance; microscopy; histochemical techniques; plant functional anatomy

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Some heavy metals, such as copper, manganese, nickel, and zinc, are essential for most plants but toxic when supplied in supraoptimal quantities, while the biological role for cadmium, mercury, and lead, with rare exceptions, is unknown and they are toxic even at fairly low concentrations in the environment. Both metal deficiency and metal excess can drastically affect different physiological processes in plants, leading to significant changes in plant growth and morphogenesis as well as plant productivity. This Special Issue is focused mainly on the mechanisms of metal effects, plant response to heavy metals, metal tolerance, and metal (hyper-)accumulation at the biochemical, physiological, molecular, genetic, and epigenetic levels.

We welcome the submission of reviews and original research articles on the following topics:

heavy metal homeostasis in plants;
plant response to metal deficiency and excess;
metal effects on plant growth and development;
metal localization and distribution in plants;
metal uptake and translocation;
metal tolerance proteins;
metal chelators involved in transport and compartmentalization of heavy metals;
heavy metal detoxification and signal transduction pathways;
physiological and molecular mechanisms of metal accumulation in hyperaccumulator and non-hyperaccumulator plants;
role of antioxidants in the amelioration of metal toxicity.

Dr. Ilya Vladimirovich Seregin
Dr. Anna D. Kozhevnikova
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Molecular Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. There is an Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal. For details about the APC please see here. Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

heavy metals
deficiency
metal toxicity
metal (hyper-)accumulation
mechanisms of metal tolerance
metal transport
metal uptake
metal sequestration
metal homeostasis

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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Open AccessArticle

Transcriptome Sequencing Analysis of Root in Soybean Responding to Mn Poisoning

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Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(16), 12727; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms241612727 - 12 Aug 2023

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Abstract

Manganese (Mn) is among one of the essential trace elements for normal plant development; however, excessive Mn can cause plant growth and development to be hindered. Nevertheless, the regulatory mechanisms of plant root response to Mn poisoning remain unclear. In the present study, results revealed that the root growth was inhibited when exposed to Mn poisoning. Physiological results showed that the antioxidase enzyme activities (peroxidase, superoxide dismutase, ascorbate peroxidase, and catalase) and the proline, malondialdehyde, and soluble sugar contents increased significantly under Mn toxicity stress (100 μM Mn), whereas the soluble protein and four hormones’ (indolebutyric acid, abscisic acid, indoleacetic acid, and gibberellic acid 3) contents decreased significantly. In addition, the Mn, Fe, Na, Al, and Se contents in the roots increased significantly, whereas those of Mg, Zn, and K decreased significantly. Furthermore, RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) analysis was used to test the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) of soybean root under Mn poisoning. The results found 45,274 genes in soybean root and 1430 DEGs under Mn concentrations of 5 (normal) and 100 (toxicity) μM. Among these DEGs, 572 were upregulated and 858 were downregulated, indicating that soybean roots may initiate complex molecular regulatory mechanisms on Mn poisoning stress. The results of quantitative RT-PCR indicated that many DEGs were upregulated or downregulated markedly in the roots, suggesting that the regulation of DEGs may be complex. Therefore, the regulatory mechanism of soybean root on Mn toxicity stress is complicated. Present results lay the foundation for further study on the molecular regulation mechanism of function genes involved in regulating Mn tolerance traits in soybean roots. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Responses to Heavy Metals: From Deficiency to Excess)

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Open AccessArticle

Exploring Transcriptional Regulation of Hyperaccumulation in Sedum plumbizincicola through Integrated Transcriptome Analysis and CRISPR/Cas9 Technology

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Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(14), 11845; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms241411845 - 24 Jul 2023

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Abstract

The cadmium hyperaccumulator Sedum plumbizincicola has remarkable abilities for cadmium (Cd) transport, accumulation and detoxification, but the transcriptional regulation mechanisms responsible for its Cd hyperaccumulation remain unknown. To address this knowledge gap, we conducted a comparative transcriptome study between S. plumbizincicola and the non-hyperaccumulating ecotype (NHE) of Sedum alfredii with or without Cd treatment. Our results revealed many differentially expressed genes involved in heavy metal transport and detoxification that were abundantly expressed in S. plumbizincicola. Additionally, we identified a large number of differentially expressed transcription factor genes, highlighting the complexity of transcriptional regulatory networks. We further screened four transcription factor genes that were highly expressed in the roots of S. plumbizincicola as candidate genes for creating CRISPR/Cas9 knockout mutations. Among these, the SpARR11 and SpMYB84 mutant lines exhibited decreased Cd accumulation in their aboveground parts, suggesting that these two transcription factors may play a role in the regulation of the Cd hyperaccumulation in S. plumbizincicola. Although further research will be required to determine the precise targeted genes of these transcription factors, combined transcriptome analysis and CRISPR/Cas9 technology provides unprecedented opportunities for identifying transcription factors related to Cd hyperaccumulation and contributes to the understanding of the transcriptional regulation mechanism of hyperaccumulation in S. plumbizincicola. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Responses to Heavy Metals: From Deficiency to Excess)

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Regulatory Mechanisms Underlying Arsenic Uptake, Transport, and Detoxification in Rice

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Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(13), 11031; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms241311031 - 03 Jul 2023

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Abstract

Arsenic (As) is a metalloid environmental pollutant ubiquitous in nature that causes chronic and irreversible poisoning to humans through its bioaccumulation in the trophic chain. Rice, the staple food crop for 350 million people worldwide, accumulates As more easily compared to other cereal crops due to its growth characteristics. Therefore, an in-depth understanding of the molecular regulatory mechanisms underlying As uptake, transport, and detoxification in rice is of great significance to solving the issue of As bioaccumulation in rice, improving its quality and safety and protecting human health. This review summarizes recent studies on the molecular mechanisms of As toxicity, uptake, transport, redistribution, regulation, and detoxification in rice. It aims to provide novel insights and approaches for preventing and controlling As bioaccumulation in rice plants, especially reducing As accumulation in rice grains. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Responses to Heavy Metals: From Deficiency to Excess)

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Open AccessReview

Nicotianamine: A Key Player in Metal Homeostasis and Hyperaccumulation in Plants

Ilya V. Seregin

and

Anna D. Kozhevnikova

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(13), 10822; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms241310822 - 28 Jun 2023

Viewed by 552

Abstract

Nicotianamine (NA) is a low-molecular-weight N-containing metal-binding ligand, whose accumulation in plant organs changes under metal deficiency or excess. Although NA biosynthesis can be induced in vivo by various metals, this non-proteinogenic amino acid is mainly involved in the detoxification and transport of iron, zinc, nickel, copper and manganese. This review summarizes the current knowledge on NA biosynthesis and its regulation, considers the mechanisms of NA secretion by plant roots, as well as the mechanisms of intracellular transport of NA and its complexes with metals, and its role in radial and long-distance metal transport. Its role in metal tolerance is also discussed. The NA contents in excluders, storing metals primarily in roots, and in hyperaccumulators, accumulating metals mainly in shoots, are compared. The available data suggest that NA plays an important role in maintaining metal homeostasis and hyperaccumulation mechanisms. The study of metal-binding compounds is of interdisciplinary significance, not only regarding their effects on metal toxicity in plants, but also in connection with the development of biofortification approaches to increase the metal contents, primarily of iron and zinc, in agricultural plants, since the deficiency of these elements in food crops seriously affects human health. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Responses to Heavy Metals: From Deficiency to Excess)

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