Cited by 361Plant Stress Responses and ToleranceHeavy metals in environmentPlant Micronutrient Interactions and Effects

Metal and metalloid toxicity in plants: an overview on molecular aspects

Open access
Angulo-Bejarano, Paola I., Puente-Rivera, Jonathan, Cruz-Ortega, Rocío·2021·Plants

Abstract

Worldwide, the effects of metal and metalloid toxicity are increasing, mainly due to anthropogenic causes. Soil contamination ranks among the most important factors, since it affects crop yield, and the metals/metalloids can enter the food chain and undergo biomagnification, having concomitant effects on human health and alterations to the environment. Plants have developed complex mechanisms to overcome these biotic and abiotic stresses during evolution. Metals and metalloids exert several effects on plants generated by elements such as Zn, Cu, Al, Pb, Cd, and As, among others. The main strategies involve hyperaccumulation, tolerance, exclusion, and chelation with organic molecules. Recent studies in the omics era have increased knowledge on the plant genome and transcriptome plasticity to defend against these stimuli. The aim of the present review is to summarize relevant findings on the mechanisms by which plants take up, accumulate, transport, tolerate, and respond to this metal/metalloid stress. We also address some of the potential applications of biotechnology to improve plant tolerance or increase accumulation.

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Crossref · 10.3390/plants10040635

Cites

197 of 197 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

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  • When Zn is present in concentrations exceeding 10,000 mg/kg, it becomes toxic, leading to impaired growth, disrupted physiological functions, and plant death.

    “However, when present in concentrations exceeding the threshold level (>10,000 mg/kg), zinc becomes toxic, leading to impaired growth, disrupted physiological functions, and even plant death.”

    From Plant hyperaccumulators: a state-of-the-art review on mechanism of heavy metal transport and sequestration (2025) · cites this paper as Angulo-Bejarano et al., 2021

    Section 3.1 (page not supplied) says Zn toxicity can inhibit growth and disrupt photosynthesis, and may lead to cell death. It does not give a 10,000 mg/kg toxicity threshold or state that Zn exposure causes the death of the whole plant; instead, it says toxicity depends on bioavailability, concentration, exposure time, genotype, and developmental stage. (LLM, conf=0.88)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • Hyperaccumulator plant species have evolved adaptations for hypertolerance and detoxification of metals and metalloids.

    “In addition, these plant species have evolved to possess adaptations for hypertolerance and detoxification of metal and metalloids (Angulo-Bejarano et al., 2021; Peng et al., 2021; Rai et al., 2021).”

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1 of the 198 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.

Research works printed but not linked: 2

  1. [33]Reeves R.D. Metal-Accumulating Plants Phytoremediation of Toxic Metals: Using Plants to Clean Up the Environment Ensley B.D. John Wiley & Son London, UK 2000 193 229
  2. [96]Marschner H. Marschner’s Mineral Nutrition of Higher Plants Elsevier BV Amsterdam, The Netherlands 2002

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Authors
Angulo-Bejarano, P. I., Puente-Rivera, J., & Cruz-Ortega, R.
Affiliations
  • Laboratorio de Alelopatía, Departamento de Ecología Funcional, Instituto de Ecología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, UNAM, 275, Ciudad Universitaria D.F. Circuito Exterior s/n Anexo al Jardín Botánico Exterior, México City 04510, Mexico
  • Instituto de Ecología (MX)
Venue
Plants
Publisher
MDPI AG
Published
2021-03-27
Volume
10
Issue
4
Pages
635
ISSN
2223-7747 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W3151778362
Cited by
357
References
198
Citations by year
2026: 48 · 2025: 86 · 2024: 102 · 2023: 60 · 2022: 51 · 2021: 10
FWCI
5.45
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Plants (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Funders
Dirección General de Asuntos del Personal Académico, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (IN205912)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Plant Science › Plant Stress Responses and Tolerance
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Pollution › Heavy metals in environment
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Plant Science › Plant Micronutrient Interactions and Effects
Keywords
metal toxicity, metalloid toxicity, plant stress tolerance, hyperaccumulation, metal exclusion, metal chelation, metal transport, soil contamination, cadmium, lead, arsenic, zinc, copper, aluminum, biomagnification, plant biotechnology

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