Molecular and physiological aspects of plant responses to aluminum: what do we know about Cerrado plants?

• Published in: Revista brasileira de botânica 2022-06, Vol.45 (2), p.545-562
• Main Authors: de Castro, Laísa Maria Resende, Vinson, Christina Cleo, da Gordo, Sheila Maysa Cunha, Williams, Thomas Christopher Rhys, Cury, Natália Faustino, de Souza, Marcelo Claro, Pereira, Luiz Alfredo Rodrigues
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Acidic soils; Aluminum; Biochemistry & Physiology - Review article; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Botany; Cell walls; Citric acid; Data processing; Dry matter; Flora; Flowers & plants; Gene expression; Gene families; Indigenous plants; Indigenous species; Information processing; Life Sciences; Organic acids; Oxalic acid; Oxidative metabolism; Oxidative stress; Photosynthesis; Physiology; Plant growth; Plant species; Plant Systematics/Taxonomy/Biogeography; Respiration; Toxicity
• ISSN: 1806-9959; 0100-8404; 1806-9959
• DOI: 10.1007/s40415-021-00781-1

Aluminum (Al) is a metal that in acid soils becomes toxic to plants, and its most phytotoxic form is Al 3+ . Usually, Al hinders plant growth and development by impairing processes such as respiration, photosynthesis, and gene expression. Moreover, plants under Al stress upregulate oxidative stress metabolism to handle Al-toxicity. Nevertheless, some plants possess tolerance/resistance to Al. The mechanisms of Al tolerance/resistance involve its complexation, either internally or externally, with organic acids (citrate, malate, and oxalate). Also, some plants can accumulate more than 1 g of Al Kg of dry matter. In the Cerrado, several species not only accumulate Al, but need it throughout their development. The Vochysiaceae stand out as one of the most important families of Cerrado flora and all its species are Al-accumulators. At the molecular level, the gene families ALMT and MATE have been associated with Al tolerance/resistance in various plant species. Moreover, there have been several reports addressing the relationships between Cerrado plants and Al at the molecular, metabolic, and subcellular levels. Additionally, in Cerrado native species, molecular and physiological data revealed that Al upregulated several crucial processes, e.g., photosynthesis, respiration, genetic information processing, and cell wall synthesis. These studies have, therefore, supported the idea that Al is not a stress factor in these native plants. Nonetheless, there is much to unravel about the role of Al in Cerrado plants and the reasons they require it to grow and develop.