Morphological and Physiological Responses of Plants to Cadmium Toxicity: A Review

Cadmium (Cd) contamination has posed an increasing challenge to environmental quality and food security. In recent years, phytoremediation has been particularly scrutinized because it is cost-effective and environmentally friendly, especially the use of metal-hyperaccumulating plants to extract or mine heavy metals from polluted soils. Under Cd stress, responses of hyperaccumulator and non-hyperaccumulator plants differ in morphological responses and physiological processes such as photosynthesis and respiration, uptake, transport, and assimilation of minerals and nitrogen, and water uptake and transport, which contribute to their ability to accumulate and detoxify Cd. This review aims to provide a brief overview of the recent progresses in the differential responses of hyperaccumulator and non-accumulator plants to Cd toxicity in terms of growth and physiological processes. Such information might be useful in developing phytoremediation technology for contaminated soils.