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Boron in plants: uptake, deficiency and biological potential

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Abstract

Industrialization and ever-augmenting urbanization are directly linked to elevation of metalloid stressors in the environment. Human activities induced disruption of the natural ecosystem, up-regulated lead to build-up and deposition of metal and metalloid cues, is considered a dilemma of paramount significance and cause nutritional and environmental pollution apprehensions. Boron (B) is an indispensable metalloid, having transitional characteristics amid metals and non-metals. B is imperative for plants and its bioavailability in the water and soil medium it’s grown in, are significant for determination of crop growth and productivity. It participates in regulating structural and membrane integrity of the cell wall and plasma membrane, mobility of ions through the membrane, cell division and elongation, reproductive growth, synthesis of biomolecules viz. carbohydrates and proteins, metabolism of phenols and auxins, nitrogen fixation, disease resistance and abiotic stress management. B has an exceedingly narrow range between its deficiency and toxicity in cultivable plants. This review critically elucidates and updates our knowledge regarding: (i) mechanistic of B uptake in plants and its translocation under sufficient and limiteing conditions, and (ii) various strategies to augment B influx in plants which include root traits modification, grafting, employment of biostimulants and nanotechnology. Additionally, we discussed several engrossing aspects related to biological potential of B in plants and mechanism underlying elevation in endurance of plants to B deficit conditions and it’s signaling in plants, which contributes to better understanding of B accumulation and its role in plants. Wide array of documentation on interspecies genetic variability related to B efficiency and tolerance to its toxic levels along with information on physiological and genetic alteration attributes to B will result in development of novel varieties of plants tolerant to B and represents as a sustainable and significant solution to the problem.

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Data Availability

The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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The authors declare that no funds, grants, or other support were received during the preparation of this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Plant Stress Physiology Lab, Department of Botanical and Environment Sciences, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, Punjab, India

    Sukhmeen Kaur Kohli, Kanika Khanna, Neha Handa & Renu Bhardwaj

  2. Post Graduate Department of Botany, Khalsa College, Amritsar, Punjab, India

    Harsimran Kaur

  3. School of Architecture and Civil Engineering, Institute of Foundation Engineering, Water and Waste Management, Laboratory of Soil and Groundwater Management, University of Wuppertal, Pauluskirchstraße 7, 42285, Wuppertal, Germany

    Jörg Rinklebe

  4. Department of Environment, Energy and Geoinformatics, Sejong University, 98 Gunja-Dong, Guangjin-Gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea

    Jörg Rinklebe

  5. Botany and Microbiology Department, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

    Parvaiz Ahmad

Authors
  1. Sukhmeen Kaur Kohli
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  2. Harsimran Kaur
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  3. Kanika Khanna
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  4. Neha Handa
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  5. Renu Bhardwaj
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  6. Jörg Rinklebe
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  7. Parvaiz Ahmad
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design of the review. Data collection and analysis, figures and illustration were performed by Harsimran Kaur, Kanika Khanna, Neha Handa, Renu Bhardwaj. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Sukhmeen Kaur Kohli, Jörg Rinklebe and Parvaiz Ahmad and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Parvaiz Ahmad.

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Kohli, S.K., Kaur, H., Khanna, K. et al. Boron in plants: uptake, deficiency and biological potential. Plant Growth Regul 100, 267–282 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10725-022-00844-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10725-022-00844-7

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