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Interference of Heavy Metal Toxicity with Auxin Physiology

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Metal Toxicity in Plants: Perception, Signaling and Remediation

Abstract

Auxins are important phytohormones involved in the coordination of plant growth and defence. In this chapter, we summarize auxin functions in plant biology and identify interactions with heavy metal toxicity. Cadmium induces the formation of reactive oxygen species, which in turn activate auxin oxidases. Auxin oxidases lead to an increased degradation of auxin and thereby are likely to decrease the activities of many genes involved in growth processes. Evidence supporting this hypothetic signalling cascade from heavy metals to eventual growth reductions comes from auxin feeding experiments that ameliorate Cd toxicity, positive effects of auxin producing endophytes on Cd tolerance and by monitoring endogenous auxin physiology with auxin reporter lines of Arabidopsis thaliana and Populus × canescens. Available data for essential micronutrients suggest that they interact with auxin physiology in a manner similar to Cd when present in excess.

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Acknowledgment

We are grateful to the Ulrich Foundation (Göttingen, Germany) for financial support to M. Elobeid for the preparation of this chapter and the German Science Foundation for continuous support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Tree Physiology and Forest Botany, Büsgen-Institut, Georg-August University, Göttingen, Germany

    Mudawi Elobeid (Faculty of Forestry) & Andrea Polle

  2. Department of Silviculture, University of Khartoum, Shambat, Khartoum North, Sudan

    Mudawi Elobeid (Faculty of Forestry)

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  1. Mudawi Elobeid
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  2. Andrea Polle
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Correspondence to Andrea Polle .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. CSIC, Bioquímica, Estación Experimental Del Zaidín, Apartado 419, Granada, E-18008, Spain

    Dharmendra K. Gupta

  2. CSIC, Bioquímica, Estación Experimental Del Zaidín, Apartado 419, Granada, E-18080, Spain

    Luisa M. Sandalio

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Elobeid, M., Polle, A. (2012). Interference of Heavy Metal Toxicity with Auxin Physiology. In: Gupta, D., Sandalio, L. (eds) Metal Toxicity in Plants: Perception, Signaling and Remediation. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-22081-4_12

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