As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg: Physiological Implications and Toxicity in Plants

A Critical Review on the Sustainable Approaches for the Removal of Toxic Heavy Metals from Water Systems

“…The various mechanisms of heavy metal removal were represented in Figure 1. skin disease, kidney and lung problems, and immune system deterioration; DNA and chromosomal damage are exposed to these tissues more frequently as a result of accumulation in the kidneys human Wadhawan et al 32 apoptosis and intracellular metabolism are caused by a genetically disturbed homeostatic system plants Franic et al 39 nickel body sickness, vomiting, and trouble falling asleep, cutaneous allergic responses human Shrestha et al, 40 An et al 41 zinc anemia and stomach pain. skin irritation, nausea, fever, and pain human Pratush et al, 42 Hassan et al 43…”

“…Table 1. Summarized Data of Common Heavy Metals and Their Occurrence by Anthropogenic Activities heavy metals contamination sources/occurrence references arsenic pesticides, herbicides, insecticides, rodenticides, volcanic eruptions, industrial fuel, pigments, battery production Martin et al, 8 Singh et al 9 cadmium mining, smelting, alloy production, welding, pesticides, plastics, batteries, photovoltaic devices Gupta et al, 10 Sarode et al 11 chromium rubber and pulp industries, rock weathering, volcanic eruptions, soil damage caused by human activities, artificial fertilizers, paint industries, leather and tanning industries, stainless steel, ferrochromate production Herrero-Latorre et al, 12 Jobby et al 13 copper copper mining, dental products, mineral processing, steel production sectors like electroplating, plastics, batteries, water pipes, paints, pharmaceuticals, household rusting Razzaz et al, 14 Zou et al, 15 Anastopoulos et al 16 lead plumbing systems, lead goods, glass batteries, ceramic paints, cables, glass, pesticides Hasanzadeh et al, 17 mercury fossil fuel combustion, electronic sectors, mining and tanning activities Joseph et al, 18 Dubey et al 19 nickel steel refineries, casting in zinc, battery industries, electrochemical industries, batteries Raval et al 20 zinc paints and pigments, pesticides, cosmetics, medicinal products Rai et al, 21 Agarwal et al 22 skin disease, kidney and lung problems, and immune system deterioration; DNA and chromosomal damage are exposed to these tissues more frequently as a result of accumulation in the kidneys human Wadhawan et al 32 apoptosis and intracellular metabolism are caused by a genetically disturbed homeostatic system plants Franic et al 39 nickel body sickness, vomiting, and trouble falling asleep, cutaneous allergic responses human Shrestha et al, 40 An et al 41 zinc anemia and stomach pain. skin irritation, nausea, fever, and pain human Pratush et al, 42 Hassan et al 43…”

Phytochelatins: Sulfur-Containing Metal(loid)-Chelating Ligands in Plants

“…Metals and metalloids are natural components of the earth's crust. Some metals, such as copper (Cu), manganese (Mn), nickel (Ni), zinc (Zn), and iron (Fe), are essential for most living organisms, while the biological roles of cadmium (Cd), mercury (Hg), lead (Pb), and arsenic (As), with rare exceptions, are unknown and they are toxic even at fairly low concentrations in the environment [1][2][3]. When essential elements are supplied in supraoptimal quantities, multiple toxic effects on a large number of physiological processes can be observed, as was shown for Cd, Pb [4,5], Ni [6,7], As [8], Zn [9] and other metals and metalloids [2,3], which is often accompanied by impaired growth and morphogenesis [10].…”

“…Some metals, such as copper (Cu), manganese (Mn), nickel (Ni), zinc (Zn), and iron (Fe), are essential for most living organisms, while the biological roles of cadmium (Cd), mercury (Hg), lead (Pb), and arsenic (As), with rare exceptions, are unknown and they are toxic even at fairly low concentrations in the environment [1][2][3]. When essential elements are supplied in supraoptimal quantities, multiple toxic effects on a large number of physiological processes can be observed, as was shown for Cd, Pb [4,5], Ni [6,7], As [8], Zn [9] and other metals and metalloids [2,3], which is often accompanied by impaired growth and morphogenesis [10]. Due to human activity, the release of metal(loid)s into the environment has increased significantly in recent decades, including contamination resulting from mining, the intensive use of fertilizers, the combustion of liquid and solid fuels, and the development of metal smelting production [1,11].…”

Genetic Approaches to Enhance Multiple Stress Tolerance in Maize

“…Generally, responses to heavy metal toxicity involve an accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), abscisic acid (ABA) and stomatal closure, but an antioxidant defense can be distinct in different organs when maize plants are subjected to sub-lethal concentrations of cadmium, copper, nickel and zinc [39]. Further, physiological implications and the toxicity of chromium, copper and mercury in the maize plant were also assessed [40]. A special case of an anthropogenic stressor in maize is high plant density.…”