Referee: Professor Alan JM Baker, School of Botany, The University of Melbourne, VIC
3010, Australia A relatively small yet diverse group of plants are capable of sequestering …

Plants growing in metal-enriched substrates take up metals to varying degrees in response
to external and internal factors. The tacit assumption that a plant can thus act as an …

During the history of life on Earth, tectonic and climatic change repeatedly generated large
territories that were virtually devoid of life and exhibited harsh environmental conditions. The …

Metal hyperaccumulator plants accumulate and detoxify extraordinarily high concentrations
of metal ions in their shoots. Metal hyperaccumulation is a fascinating phenomenon, which …

The hyperaccumulation of metals by a rare class of plants is a fascinating and little
understood phenomenon. No genetic analysis has been possible since no intraspecific …

In the course of evolution, plants adapted to widely differing metal availabilities in soils and
therefore represent an important source of natural variation of metal homeostasis networks …

Trace metal elements are essential for plant growth but become toxic at high concentrations,
while some non-essential elements, such as Cd and As, show toxicity even in traces. Thus …

Several heavy metals and metalloids, such as iron, manganese, zinc, copper, and
molybdenum are essential micronutrients, whereas others such as aluminium, cadmium …

Plants have evolved sophisticated mechanisms to deal with toxic levels of metals in the soil.
In this paper, an overview of recent progress with regards to understanding fundamental …

Approximately 500 species of plants are known to hyperaccumulate heavy metals and
metalloids. The majority are obligate metallophytes, species that are restricted to …