Toxic metals and metalloids: Uptake, transport, detoxification, phytoremediation, and crop improvement for safer food

Agricultural soils are under threat of toxic metal/metalloid contamination from anthropogenic activities, leading to excessive accumulation of arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), and mercury (Hg) in food crops that poses significant risks to human health. Understanding how these toxic metals and their methylated species are taken up, translocated, and detoxified is prerequisite to developing strategies to limit their accumulation for safer food. Toxic metals are taken up and transported across different cellular compartments and plant tissues via various transporters for essential or beneficial nutrients, e.g. As by phosphate and silicon transporters, and Cd by manganese (Mn), zinc (Zn), and iron (Fe) transporters. These transport processes are subjected to interactions with nutrients and the regulation at the transcriptional and posttranslational levels. Complexation with thiol-rich compounds, such as phytochelatins, and sequestration in the vacuoles are the common mechanisms for detoxification and for limiting their translocation. A number of genes involved in toxic metal uptake, transport, and detoxification have been identified, offering targets for genetic manipulation via gene editing or transgenic technologies. Natural variations in toxic metal accumulation exist within crop germplasm, and some of the quantitative trait loci underlying these variations have been cloned, paving the way for marker-assisted breeding of low metal accumulation crops. Using plants to extract and remove toxic metals from soil is also possible, but this phytoremediation approach requires metal hyperaccumulation for efficiency. Knowledge gaps and future research needs are also discussed.

Automated summary

Agricultural soils are at risk of toxic metal contamination, which leads to excessive accumulation of these metals in food crops and poses significant risks to human health. Understanding the uptake, translocation, and detoxification processes of these toxic metals is essential for developing strategies to limit their accumulation in food. Various transporters are involved in the uptake and transport of toxic metals across different cellular compartments and plant tissues, and these processes are regulated at the transcriptional and posttranslational levels. Complexation with thiol-rich compounds and sequestration in vacuoles are common mechanisms for detoxification and limiting the translocation of toxic metals. Genes involved in toxic metal uptake, transport, and detoxification have been identified and can be targeted for genetic manipulation. Natural variations in toxic metal accumulation exist in crop germplasm, and marker-assisted breeding can be employed to develop low metal accumulation crops. Phytoremediation, using plants to extract and remove toxic metals from soil, is also possible but requires plants with high accumulation capacity. Knowledge gaps and future research needs are discussed.