Abstract
Arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury are toxic elements that are almost ubiquitously present at low levels in the environment because of anthropogenic influences. Dietary intake of plant-derived food represents a major fraction of potentially health-threatening human exposure, especially to arsenic and cadmium. In the interest of better food safety, it is important to reduce toxic element accumulation in crops. A molecular understanding of the pathways responsible for this accumulation can enable the development of crop varieties with strongly reduced concentrations of toxic elements in their edible parts. Such understanding is rapidly progressing for arsenic and cadmium but is in its infancy for lead and mercury. Basic discoveries have been made in Arabidopsis, rice, and other models, and most advances in crops have been made in rice. Proteins mediating the uptake of arsenic and cadmium have been identified, and the speciation and biotransformations of arsenic are now understood. Factors controlling the efficiency of root-to-shoot translocation and the partitioning of toxic elements through the rice node have also been identified.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 489-512 |
| Number of pages | 24 |
| Journal | Annual Review of Plant Biology |
| Volume | 67 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Apr 29 2016 |
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Keywords
- Arsenic accumulation
- Cadmium accumulation
- Food safety
- Metal transporters
- Natural variation
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Plant Science
- Cell Biology
- Molecular Biology
- Physiology
Cite this
Toxic Heavy Metal and Metalloid Accumulation in Crop Plants and Foods. / Clemens, Stephan; Ma, Jian Feng.
In: Annual Review of Plant Biology, Vol. 67, 29.04.2016, p. 489-512.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Toxic Heavy Metal and Metalloid Accumulation in Crop Plants and Foods
AU - Clemens, Stephan
AU - Ma, Jian Feng
PY - 2016/4/29
Y1 - 2016/4/29
N2 - Arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury are toxic elements that are almost ubiquitously present at low levels in the environment because of anthropogenic influences. Dietary intake of plant-derived food represents a major fraction of potentially health-threatening human exposure, especially to arsenic and cadmium. In the interest of better food safety, it is important to reduce toxic element accumulation in crops. A molecular understanding of the pathways responsible for this accumulation can enable the development of crop varieties with strongly reduced concentrations of toxic elements in their edible parts. Such understanding is rapidly progressing for arsenic and cadmium but is in its infancy for lead and mercury. Basic discoveries have been made in Arabidopsis, rice, and other models, and most advances in crops have been made in rice. Proteins mediating the uptake of arsenic and cadmium have been identified, and the speciation and biotransformations of arsenic are now understood. Factors controlling the efficiency of root-to-shoot translocation and the partitioning of toxic elements through the rice node have also been identified.
AB - Arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury are toxic elements that are almost ubiquitously present at low levels in the environment because of anthropogenic influences. Dietary intake of plant-derived food represents a major fraction of potentially health-threatening human exposure, especially to arsenic and cadmium. In the interest of better food safety, it is important to reduce toxic element accumulation in crops. A molecular understanding of the pathways responsible for this accumulation can enable the development of crop varieties with strongly reduced concentrations of toxic elements in their edible parts. Such understanding is rapidly progressing for arsenic and cadmium but is in its infancy for lead and mercury. Basic discoveries have been made in Arabidopsis, rice, and other models, and most advances in crops have been made in rice. Proteins mediating the uptake of arsenic and cadmium have been identified, and the speciation and biotransformations of arsenic are now understood. Factors controlling the efficiency of root-to-shoot translocation and the partitioning of toxic elements through the rice node have also been identified.
KW - Arsenic accumulation
KW - Cadmium accumulation
KW - Food safety
KW - Metal transporters
KW - Natural variation
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84968831244&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84968831244&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1146/annurev-arplant-043015-112301
DO - 10.1146/annurev-arplant-043015-112301
M3 - Article
VL - 67
SP - 489
EP - 512
JO - Annual Review of Plant Physiology and Plant Molecular Biology
JF - Annual Review of Plant Physiology and Plant Molecular Biology
SN - 1040-2519
ER -