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Heavy Metal Toxicity in Plants

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Plants and Heavy Metals

Part of the book series: SpringerBriefs in Molecular Science ((SB BIOMETALS))

Abstract

Plants are sessile organisms that must cope with the surrounding soil composition in order to survive and reproduce. Soils often contain excessive levels of essential and non-essential elements, which may be toxic at high concentrations depending on the plant species and the soil characteristics. Many metals share common toxicity mechanisms, and plants deal with these metals using similar scavenging pathways. The impact of metal toxicity is made more complex by competition, since high levels of one metal may imbalance the uptake and transport of others, therefore contributing to the toxicity symptoms. Here, the toxicity symptoms and mechanisms of the most common essential and non-essential heavy metals will be considered.

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  1. Department of Biotechnology, University of Verona, Ca Vignal 1, Strada Le Grazie 15, 37134, Verona, Italy

    Giovanni DalCorso

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  1. Giovanni DalCorso
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Correspondence to Giovanni DalCorso .

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  1. , Department of Biotechnology, University of Verona, Strada Le Grazie, Ca Vignal 1 15, Verona, Italy

    Antonella Furini

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DalCorso, G. (2012). Heavy Metal Toxicity in Plants. In: Furini, A. (eds) Plants and Heavy Metals. SpringerBriefs in Molecular Science(). Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-4441-7_1

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