Title : Molecular mechanisms of plant stress induced by toxic heavy metals
Abstract:
Climate change and environmental pollution create stress in plants, which is directly linked to loss of biodiversity, food security, and human health. Tropical regions are special vulnerable areas due to the intense use of natural resources and the narrow tolerance of living species to temperature changes, and to other abiotic effects. Heavy metals pollution is a worldwide problem that has deteriorated environment and has placed health of many countries at risk. Toxic heavy metals represent a challenge, since metals in their elemental state cannot be decomposed further. In spite the well-known toxicity of metals like Cd, Pb, Hg, and
As, and furthermore their capacity to induce several diseases, such as cancer, important details of the mechanism of action in animal and plant cells are not known. The most frequent means of entry in our body is through water and crops contaminated with heavy metals. This work concentrates on intracellular and molecular events associated with heavy metals mobilization and toxicity in plants. Damages to critical plant cell organelles are observed when concentration of toxic heavy metals exceeds the capability of physiological detoxification systems. Possible roles and impact on cell cytoskeleton are discussed. Molecular components of the actin cytoskeleton seem to respond to the toxic effects of metals.
Alternatives to clean contaminated soil and water resources are tedious, not very effective and highly expensive. This would be the case of phytoremediation, where limitations exist, due in part to the lack of understanding of the mechanism involved in the mechanism of metal accumulation in plants. In this work, phytoremediation alternatives using tropical plants are examined. In general, this study uses molecular genetics, and biochemical studies to elucidate the homeostasis of heavy metals in plants.
