Evolution of heavy metal and metalloid stress responses in plants

Environmental stresses caused by heavy metals and metalloids and their impact on food production and human health have been hot topics for environmental, agricultural, and ecological research in recent decades. Globally, toxic heavy metals and metalloids in the environment are increasing due to inputs from natural sources and human activities, which cause serious health risks to humans and animals if they enter the food chain.

Plants have acquired highly regulated mechanisms to alleviate the toxicity of heavy metals and metalloids during the 500 million years of evolution. Better understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying the transport and detoxification of heavy metals and metalloids in plants will shed light on developing mitigation strategies. However, most studies are limited to single or a small number of plant species especially on model species and staple crops. One major evolutionary question is when and how plants evolved adaptive and tolerant mechanisms in response to heavy metals and metalloids. This question will require advanced research tools combining plant systematics, phylogenomics, molecular biology, physiology, and ecology to decipher the mechanisms.

This special issue seeks to provide a platform for leading researchers to publish high quality articles that address these important questions, and remediate contamination of heavy metals and metalloids as a global issue by combining the stress biological research advances with agricultural and environmental practices.

We welcome reviews, original research papers, short communications and highlights. There is no publication fee for all accepted articles.

Submission instructions

Before submitting your manuscript, please ensure you have carefully read the Submission Guidelines for Stress Biology. The complete manuscript should be submitted online through: https://www.editorialmanager.com/sbio.

To ensure that you submit to the correct special issue, please select the appropriate special issue title under the 'Additional information' tab upon submission. In addition, indicate within your cover letter that you wish your manuscript to be considered as part of the special issue 'Evolution of heavy metal and metalloid stress responses in plants'.

All submissions will undergo rigorous peer review and accepted articles will be published within the journal as a collection.