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Toxic Effects of Heavy Metals on Germination and Physiological Processes of Plants

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Book cover Toxicity of Heavy Metals to Legumes and Bioremediation

Abstract

Pollution of the environment by toxic metals in recent years has accelerated dramatically due to rapid industrial progress. Heavy metals when taken up in amounts in excess of the normal concentration produce lethal effects on plants, on microbes, and directly or indirectly on the human health. Deleterious impact of metals on plants includes the reduction in germinability of seeds, inactivation of enzymes, damage to cells by acting as antimetabolites, or formation of precipitates or chelates with essential metabolites. Heavy metals also show unconstructive effects on other physiological processes like photosynthesis, gaseous exchange, water relations, and mineral/nutrient absorption by plants. These adverse effects may be due to the generation of reactive oxygen species which may cause oxidative stress. The impact of heavy metals on germination of legume seeds and different physiological events of plants with special reference to leguminous plants grown in distinct agroecological niches is highlighted.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biological Sciences, College of Natural and Applied Sciences, Crescent University, Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria

    Parvaze Ahmad Wani

  2. Department of Agricultural Microbiology, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, 202002, Uttar Pradesh, India

    Mohammad Saghir Khan

  3. Department of Agricultural Microbiology, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, UP, India

    Almas Zaidi

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  1. Parvaze Ahmad Wani
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  2. Mohammad Saghir Khan
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  3. Almas Zaidi
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Correspondence to Parvaze Ahmad Wani .

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  1. Fac. Agricultural Sciences, Dept. Agricultural Microbiology, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, 202002, India

    Almas Zaidi

  2. , Department of Biological Sciences, Crescent University, College of Natural, Abeokuta, Ogun, Nigeria

    Parvaze Ahmad Wani

  3. Fac. Agricultural Sciences, Dept. Agricultural Microbiology, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, 202002, India

    Mohammad Saghir Khan

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Wani, P.A., Khan, M.S., Zaidi, A. (2012). Toxic Effects of Heavy Metals on Germination and Physiological Processes of Plants. In: Zaidi, A., Wani, P., Khan, M. (eds) Toxicity of Heavy Metals to Legumes and Bioremediation. Springer, Vienna. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-7091-0730-0_3

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