Copper environmental toxicology, recent advances, and future outlook: a review

• Published in: Environmental science and pollution research international 2019-06, Vol.26 (18), p.18003-18016
• Main Authors: Rehman, Muzammal, Liu, Lijun, Wang, Qin, Saleem, Muhammad Hamzah, Bashir, Saqib, Ullah, Sana, Peng, Dingxiang
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Agricultural land; Agricultural management; Agrochemicals; Ammonia; Anthropogenic factors; Aquatic Pollution; Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; Carbohydrate metabolism; Carbohydrates; Cell walls; Chlorophyll; Copper; Copper - toxicity; Earth and Environmental Science; Ecological risk assessment; Ecotoxicology; Ecotoxicology - methods; Ecotoxicology - trends; Electron transport; Environment; Environmental Chemistry; Environmental Health; Environmental science; Fungicides; Homeostasis; Lipids; Metabolism; Metals; Micronutrients; Oxidative stress; Oxidative Stress - drug effects; Pesticides; Photosynthesis; Photosynthesis - drug effects; Phytotoxicity; Plant metabolism; Plant tissues; Plants - drug effects; Plants - metabolism; Pollution; Protein turnover; Proteins; Reactive oxygen species; Reactive Oxygen Species - metabolism; Review Article; Risk assessment; Soil - chemistry; Soil contamination; Soil management; Soil Pollutants - toxicity; Toxicity; Toxicology; Waste Water Technology; Water Management; Water Pollution Control
• ISSN: 0944-1344; 1614-7499
• DOI: 10.1007/s11356-019-05073-6

Copper (Cu) is one of the micronutrients needed by living organisms. In plants, Cu plays key roles in chlorophyll formation, photosynthesis, respiratory electron transport chains, oxidative stress protection as well as protein, carbohydrate, and cell wall metabolism. Therefore, deficiency of Cu can alter various functions of plant metabolism. However, Cu-based agrochemicals have traditionally been used in agriculture and being excessively released into the environment by anthropogenic activities. Continuous and extensive release of Cu is an imperative issue with various documented cases of phytotoxicity by the overproduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and damage to carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and DNA. The mobility of Cu from soil to plant tissues has several concerns including its adverse effects on humans. In this review, we have described about importance and occurrence of Cu in environment, Cu homeostasis and toxicity in plants as well as remediation and progress in research so far done worldwide in the light of previous findings. Furthermore, present review provides a comprehensive ecological risk assessment on Cu in soils and thus provides insights for agricultural soil management and protection.