Cadmium and Plant Development: An Agony from Seed to Seed

Anthropogenic pollution of agricultural soils with cadmium (Cd) should receive adequate attention as Cd accumulation in crops endangers human health. When Cd is present in the soil, plants are exposed to it throughout their entire life cycle. As it is a non-essential element, no specific Cd uptake m...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of molecular sciences 2019-08, Vol.20 (16), p.3971
Main Authors: Huybrechts, Michiel, Cuypers, Ann, Deckers, Jana, Iven, Verena, Vandionant, Stéphanie, Jozefczak, Marijke, Hendrix, Sophie
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Cadmium
Cadmium - toxicity
cell cycle
cell wall
Cell Wall - drug effects
Cell Wall - metabolism
germination
Germination - drug effects
Heavy metals
oxidative stress
Oxidative Stress - drug effects
Plant Development - drug effects
plant growth and development
reproduction
Review
Seeds
Seeds - drug effects
Seeds - growth & development
Seeds - metabolism
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Summary:Anthropogenic pollution of agricultural soils with cadmium (Cd) should receive adequate attention as Cd accumulation in crops endangers human health. When Cd is present in the soil, plants are exposed to it throughout their entire life cycle. As it is a non-essential element, no specific Cd uptake mechanisms are present. Therefore, Cd enters the plant through transporters for essential elements and consequently disturbs plant growth and development. In this review, we will focus on the effects of Cd on the most important events of a plant's life cycle covering seed germination, the vegetative phase and the reproduction phase. Within the vegetative phase, the disturbance of the cell cycle by Cd is highlighted with special emphasis on endoreduplication, DNA damage and its relation to cell death. Furthermore, we will discuss the cell wall as an important structure in retaining Cd and the ability of plants to actively modify the cell wall to increase Cd tolerance. As Cd is known to affect concentrations of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and phytohormones, special emphasis is put on the involvement of these compounds in plant developmental processes. Lastly, possible future research areas are put forward and a general conclusion is drawn, revealing that Cd is agonizing for all stages of plant development.
ISSN:1422-0067
1661-6596
1422-0067
DOI:10.3390/ijms20163971