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Cell Biology of Metals and Nutrients pp 225–241Cite as

Selenium Metabolism in Plants

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Part of the book series: Plant Cell Monographs ((CELLMONO,volume 17))

Abstract

Selenium (Se) is an essential nutrient for many organisms, but also toxic at higher levels. While certain algae require Se to make selenoproteins, no such requirement has been shown for higher plants. Still, plants readily take up and assimilate Se using sulfur (S) transporters and biochemical pathways, and can also volatilize methylated Se. Some plants can even hyperaccumulate Se to levels around 1% of plant dry weight, in the form of methyl-selenocysteine, probably as a defense mechanism. Plants may be used both to provide dietary Se in areas of Se deficiency, and to clean up Se pollution from seleniferous areas. These applications benefit from better insight into the genetic and biochemical mechanisms that control plant Se tolerance and accumulation. Here we give a review of plant Se metabolism, and present new insights into plant Se tolerance and hyperaccumulation mechanisms. Moreover, we summarize research on the ecological aspects of plant Se accumulation.

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Acknowledgements

The writing of this manuscript was supported by National Science Foundation grant # IOS-0817748 to EAHPS. We thank Wiebke Tapken for creative design of figures. We thank all researchers who contributed to the results described here and apologize to those whose work we could not cover due to space limitation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Biology Department, Colorado State University, Anatomy/Zoology Building, Fort Collins, CO, 80523, USA

    Elizabeth A. H. Pilon-Smits & Colin F. Quinn

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  1. Elizabeth A. H. Pilon-Smits
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  2. Colin F. Quinn
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Correspondence to Elizabeth A. H. Pilon-Smits .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Fak. Biowissenschaften, Universität Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 360, Heidelberg, 69120, Germany

    Rüdiger Hell

  2. Botanisches Institut, TU Braunschweig, Humboldtstr. 1, Braunschweig, 38106, Germany

    Ralf-Rainer Mendel

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Pilon-Smits, E.A.H., Quinn, C.F. (2010). Selenium Metabolism in Plants. In: Hell, R., Mendel, RR. (eds) Cell Biology of Metals and Nutrients. Plant Cell Monographs, vol 17. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-10613-2_10

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