Transition metals in plant photosynthesis

Abstract

Transition metals are involved in essential biological processes in plants since they are cofactors of metalloproteins and also act as regulator elements. Particularly, plant chloroplasts are organelles with high transition metal ion demand because metalloproteins are involved in the photosynthetic electron transport chain. The transition metal requirement of photosynthetic organisms greatly exceeds that of non-photosynthetic organisms, and either metal deficiency or metal excess strongly impacts photosynthetic functions. In chloroplasts, the transition metal ion requirement needs a homeostasis network that strictly regulates metal uptake, chelation, trafficking and storage since under some conditions metals cause toxicity. This review gives an overview of the current understanding of main features concerning the role of copper (Cu), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn) and zinc (Zn) in plant photosynthesis as well as the mechanisms involved in their homeostasis within chloroplasts. The metalloproteins functioning in photosynthetic proteins of plants as well as those proteins participating in the metal transport and metal binding assembly are reviewed. Furthermore, the role of nickel (Ni) in artificial photosynthesis will be discussed.

Heavy Metals in Crop Plants: Transport and Redistribution Processes on the Whole Plant Level

“…Mn is essential for the oxygen evolution in photosystem II and for a series of enzymatic reactions (e.g., phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase, and superoxide dismutase) [1,2,13,[20][21][22]. Cu is present in the plastidial plastocyanin, in the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase, in Cu-Zn superoxide dismutase as well as in a series of other proteins [1,2,13,[23][24][25][26]. Zn is essential for several enzymes (e.g., metalloproteinase, carbonic anhydrase, and Cu-Zn superoxide dismutase) [1,2,13,[26][27][28][29][30].…”

“…Cu is present in the plastidial plastocyanin, in the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase, in Cu-Zn superoxide dismutase as well as in a series of other proteins [1,2,13,[23][24][25][26]. Zn is essential for several enzymes (e.g., metalloproteinase, carbonic anhydrase, and Cu-Zn superoxide dismutase) [1,2,13,[26][27][28][29][30]. Ni is known for its involvement in urease activity [1,2,13,14,[31][32][33][34].…”

Diurnal variation in the coupling of photosynthetic electron transport and carbon fixation in iron-limited phytoplankton in the NE subarctic Pacific

“…Understanding the spatial and temporal patterns in marine primary productivity and its response to environmental variability is thus a central oceanographic research question. Traditionally, rates of phytoplankton primary production have been measured using incubation-based assays, tracing the evolution of oxygen or the assimilation of CO 2 (Williams et al, 2008). Over the past 2 decades, biooptical approaches based on measurements of active chlorophyll a fluorescence (ChlF) yields (Kolber and Falkowski, 1993;Schreiber, 2004) have emerged as an attractive alternative, avoiding artifacts related to bottle containment and achieving unparalleled spatial and temporal resolution.…”

Tolerancia de Agave tequilana a altas concentraciones de cationes metálicos divalentes.

“…En el caso de metales como el fierro (Fe), zinc (Zn), cobre (Cu), manganeso (Mn), molibdeno (Mo); los cuales son micronutrientes esenciales para las plantas requeridos en cantidades relativamente bajas, participan por ejemplo como constituyentes de metaloproteínas o cofactores de enzimas involucradas en procesos metabólicos fundamentales como la respiración y la fotosíntesis (revisado recientemente en Yruela, 2013). Sin embargo, los micronutrientes esenciales también resultan tóxicos a las plantas en altas concentraciones (Becker y Asch, 2005;Broadley et al, 2007;Fernandes y Henriques, 1991;Millaleo et al, 2010).…”