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Heavy Metal Uptake and Transport in Plants

  • Chapter
Heavy Metal Contamination of Soils

Part of the book series: Soil Biology ((SOILBIOL,volume 44))

Abstract

Like all other organisms, plants have developed different strategies to get adapted to their external environments. An increase in the metal ion concentration in soils, metallothioneins, stress proteins, etc. results into reactive oxygen species production that ultimately leads to programmed cell death. To deal with such stress situations, plants have developed certain defense mechanisms or adaptation strategies including restriction of metal ion uptake, metal export from the plant, chelation and compartmentalization, etc.; processes in which different metal transporters are involved. These transporters act through a series of signaling events which ultimately lead to the balance of nutrients in the plants, necessary for their survival. Based on the current plant molecular and biochemical research, the role of copper transporter family, ZIP family, NRAMP family of transporters, MATE protein transporters, HMA transporters, oligopeptide transporters, ABC family of transporters, and cation-diffusion facilitator family of transporters will be discussed in this chapter.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Atta-ur-Rahman School of Applied Biosciences, National University of Sciences & Technology (NUST), Islamabad, Pakistan

    Tayyaba Komal, Midhat Mustafa & Alvina G. Kazi

  2. Ecotoxicology Research Institute, National Agricultural Research Centre, Park Road, Islamabad, 45500, Pakistan

    Zeshan Ali

Authors
  1. Tayyaba Komal
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  2. Midhat Mustafa
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  3. Zeshan Ali
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  4. Alvina G. Kazi
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Correspondence to Alvina G. Kazi .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institut für Allgemeine Botanik und Pflanzenphysiologie, Universität Jena, Jena, Germany

    Irena Sherameti

  2. Amity Institute of Microbial Technology, Amity University Uttar Pradesh, Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India

    Ajit Varma

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Komal, T., Mustafa, M., Ali, Z., Kazi, A.G. (2015). Heavy Metal Uptake and Transport in Plants. In: Sherameti, I., Varma, A. (eds) Heavy Metal Contamination of Soils. Soil Biology, vol 44. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-14526-6_10

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