Trace metals are needed by all living organisms to function properly and in plants they are taken up from the soil. Natural or anthropogenic caused variations within a plant’s habitat lead to an exposure to a wide range of metal concentrations. Plants have evolved sophisticated mechanisms to cope with fluctuating levels of metal supply from deficiency to toxicity. Metalloproteins make up almost half of all naturally occurring proteins, which underscores the importance of a balanced availability. Among the most complex reactions in a plant cell photosynthesis, respiration, and nitrogen fixation strictly depend on transition metals as catalysts and cofactors. A plant cell thus can activate economic programs to ensure sufficient supply of metals to maintain substantial reactions and on the other hand, can allocate harmful metals to avoid cellular damage.
Although extensive studies over the past years have revealed a comprehensive set of molecular players involved in the distribution of individual metals in model plants, a better understanding of the interplay between the various metals or knowledge of the molecular mechanism in crop plants is still lacking. With the generation of transcriptomic and proteomic data sets, milestones have been set, which are open for in-depth investigations. The goal of the Research Topic is to provide an overview of recent advances in the regulation of metal dependent processes in plant development, on economy models to allow plant adaptation to a wide range of metal concentrations, and on agricultural applications.
We welcome submission of original research papers, reviews, and methods, including (but not limited to) research on the following sub-themes:
• Uptake of essential metals via the root system
• Long distance transport from root to shoot
• Long distance signaling from shoot to root
• Transcriptional and posttranscriptional regulation of metal transporters
• Metal sensing and intracellular signaling from organelles to nucleus
• Analysis of metal homeostasis in crop plants
Please note that descriptive studies and those defining gene families or descriptive collection of transcripts, proteins, or metabolites, will not be considered for review unless they are expanded and provide mechanistic and/or physiological insights into the biological system or process being studied.
Trace metals are needed by all living organisms to function properly and in plants they are taken up from the soil. Natural or anthropogenic caused variations within a plant’s habitat lead to an exposure to a wide range of metal concentrations. Plants have evolved sophisticated mechanisms to cope with fluctuating levels of metal supply from deficiency to toxicity. Metalloproteins make up almost half of all naturally occurring proteins, which underscores the importance of a balanced availability. Among the most complex reactions in a plant cell photosynthesis, respiration, and nitrogen fixation strictly depend on transition metals as catalysts and cofactors. A plant cell thus can activate economic programs to ensure sufficient supply of metals to maintain substantial reactions and on the other hand, can allocate harmful metals to avoid cellular damage.
Although extensive studies over the past years have revealed a comprehensive set of molecular players involved in the distribution of individual metals in model plants, a better understanding of the interplay between the various metals or knowledge of the molecular mechanism in crop plants is still lacking. With the generation of transcriptomic and proteomic data sets, milestones have been set, which are open for in-depth investigations. The goal of the Research Topic is to provide an overview of recent advances in the regulation of metal dependent processes in plant development, on economy models to allow plant adaptation to a wide range of metal concentrations, and on agricultural applications.
We welcome submission of original research papers, reviews, and methods, including (but not limited to) research on the following sub-themes:
• Uptake of essential metals via the root system
• Long distance transport from root to shoot
• Long distance signaling from shoot to root
• Transcriptional and posttranscriptional regulation of metal transporters
• Metal sensing and intracellular signaling from organelles to nucleus
• Analysis of metal homeostasis in crop plants
Please note that descriptive studies and those defining gene families or descriptive collection of transcripts, proteins, or metabolites, will not be considered for review unless they are expanded and provide mechanistic and/or physiological insights into the biological system or process being studied.
