Plant cells orchestrate an array of molecular mechanisms for maintaining plasmatic
concentrations of essential heavy metal (HM) ions, for example, iron, zinc and copper, within …

The vacuole is a pivotal organelle functioning in storage of metabolites, mineral nutrients,
and toxicants in higher plants. Accumulating evidence indicates that in addition to its storage …

Soil contamination by heavy metals and metalloids such as cadmium (Cd) and arsenic (As)
poses a major threat to the environment and to human health. Vacuolar sequestration is one …

Iron, zinc, copper and manganese are essential metals for cellular enzyme functions while
cadmium, mercury and the metalloid arsenic lack any biological function. Both, essential …

Transition metals such as copper are essential for many physiological processes yet can be
toxic at elevated levels. Other metals (eg lead) are nonessential and potentially highly toxic …

Plant cells maintain plasmatic concentrations of essential heavy metal ions, such as iron,
zinc, and copper, within the optimal functional range. To do so, several molecular …

Engineering plants with greater metal tolerance and accumulation properties is the key to
developing phytoremediators. A recent study by Won-Yong Song et al. has shown that …

Vacuoles in vegetative tissues allow the plant surface to expand by accumulating
energetically cheap inorganic osmolytes, and thereby optimize the plant for absorption of …

Plant nutrient uptake is performed mostly by roots, which have to acquire nutrients while
avoiding excessive amounts of essential and toxic elements. Apoplastic barriers such as the …

A relatively small group of hyperaccumulator plants is capable of sequestering heavy metals
in their shoot tissues at high concentrations. In recent years, major scientific progress has …