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Plants
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Physiological and Biochemical Responses of Plants to Heavy Metal Toxicity
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Physiological and Biochemical Responses of Plants to Heavy Metal Toxicity

A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747). This special issue belongs to the section "Plant Response to Abiotic Stress and Climate Change".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 May 2026 | Viewed by 3873

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Erna Karalija

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Guest Editor
Laboratory for Plant Physiology and Molecular Biology, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Sarajevo, 71000 Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Interests: plant stress physiology; heavy metal phytoremediation; seed priming; epigenetic memory; secondary metabolites; oxidative stress
Dr. Dunja Šamec

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Guest Editor
Department of Food Technology, University North, Trg Dr. Žarka Dolinara 1, 48000 Koprivnica, Croatia
Interests: plant biochemistry; antioxidant mechanisms; plant–environment interactions; phytochemicals; abiotic stress tolerance
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Heavy metal toxicity represents a critical environmental threat that significantly impacts plant growth, productivity, and survival. Industrialization, mining, and agricultural practices have led to increasing accumulation of heavy metals in soils, creating challenges for sustainable agriculture and food safety. Plants exposed to heavy metals exhibit a wide range of physiological and biochemical responses, including disruption of nutrient homeostasis, alterations in photosynthesis, oxidative stress induction, changes in hormone signaling, and activation of antioxidant defense systems. This Special Issue aims to bring together novel insights into the molecular, physiological, and biochemical mechanisms underlying plant responses to heavy metal stress. We welcome contributions exploring metal uptake, transport, sequestration, and detoxification strategies; the roles of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and antioxidant defense; cross-talk between phytohormones; and metabolic adjustments that sustain plant resilience. Studies that integrate omics technologies (transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics, epigenomics), phytoremediation approaches, seed priming strategies, and plant–microbe interactions in the context of heavy metal stress are especially encouraged.

By gathering state-of-the-art research and reviews, this Special Issue will advance our understanding of plant adaptive responses to heavy metal toxicity, highlighting both fundamental mechanisms and applied perspectives for crop improvement, sustainable agriculture, and ecosystem restoration.

Dr. Erna Karalija
Dr. Dunja Šamec
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Plants is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • heavy metal stress
  • phytoremediation
  • oxidative stress
  • antioxidant defense
  • phytohormones and signaling
  • mineral homeostasis
  • seed priming
  • epigenetic regulation
  • plant–microbe interactions
  • omics approaches

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 2330 KB  
Article
Integrated Biochemical and Ultrastructural Responses of Tanacetum vulgare L. to Multi-Metal Stress
by Ilya Alliluev, Natalia Chernikova, Victoria Kazachkova, Irshad Ahmad, Aleksei Fedorenko, Vladislav Popov, Artem Babenko, Victor Chaplygin, Saglara Mandzhieva and Tatiana Minkina
Plants 2026, 15(7), 1112; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants15071112 - 3 Apr 2026
Viewed by 949
Abstract
Coal combustion at power stations is a significant source of heavy metal accumulation in plants and soil, posing risks to ecosystems and human health. The objective of the study was to investigate the adaptive strategies of common tansy (Tanacetum vulgare L.) exposed [...] Read more.
Coal combustion at power stations is a significant source of heavy metal accumulation in plants and soil, posing risks to ecosystems and human health. The objective of the study was to investigate the adaptive strategies of common tansy (Tanacetum vulgare L.) exposed to heavy metal pollution in the impact zone of the Novocherkassk State Power Station (Russia). In the impact zone, soil concentrations of Cd, Pb, Ni, Cr, Cu, Zn, and Mn exceeded background levels by 1.4–8.2 times. An analysis of heavy metal translocation revealed selective accumulation mechanisms. The Cd translocation factor increased by 5.6-fold and Pb by 6-fold, correlating with a 14- and 22-fold enrichment of mobile compounds of Cd and Pb in the rhizosphere. T. vulgare demonstrated a coordinated antioxidant response: the activity of superoxide dismutase (+27%), guaiacol peroxidase (+375%), catalase (+348%), as well as the content of glutathione (+11%), increased in shoots. However, the polyphenol content in the shoots decreased by approximately 22%. Despite severe ultrastructural damage, T. vulgare maintained high biomass productivity. This selective translocation phenotype, combined with high biomass productivity, makes the species a promising candidate for the phytoremediation of coal-contaminated soils. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Physiological and Biochemical Responses of Plants to Heavy Metal Toxicity)
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20 pages, 4404 KB  
Article
Physiological and Transcriptomic Responses of Rice Cultivars to Combined Cadmium and Elevated Temperature Stress
by Feng Wang, Nan Wang, Dongxu Gao, Liping Ren, Jiahong Yi, Rong Wang and Qiuping Zhang
Plants 2026, 15(5), 695; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants15050695 - 25 Feb 2026
Viewed by 544
Abstract
Cadmium (Cd) contamination and rising temperatures pose significant challenges to rice growth and food safety. Here, we investigated growth responses, Cd accumulation, physiological adaptations, and transcriptomic profiles of two rice cultivars, Yuzhenxiang (YZX) and Xiangwanxian 12 (XWX12), under combined Cd (0, 5, 20 [...] Read more.
Cadmium (Cd) contamination and rising temperatures pose significant challenges to rice growth and food safety. Here, we investigated growth responses, Cd accumulation, physiological adaptations, and transcriptomic profiles of two rice cultivars, Yuzhenxiang (YZX) and Xiangwanxian 12 (XWX12), under combined Cd (0, 5, 20 μmol L−1) and temperature (25 °C, 30 °C) stress. Moderate warming (30 °C) generally promoted seedling growth and enhanced Cd uptake, with YZX showing greater increases in plant height and biomass, whereas XWX12 developed longer roots. At maturity, the temperature-induced growth advantage persisted in YZX, accompanied by a 60% increase in root Cd concentration, compared with 36% in XWX12. Antioxidant enzyme activities (POD, SOD, CAT) were significantly induced under combined stress, with XWX12 exhibiting stronger enzymatic responses and broader activation of ABC transporter genes, supporting reduced Cd accumulation in shoots. Malondialdehyde content indicated milder oxidative damage in YZX despite higher Cd accumulation. Transcriptomic analyses revealed extensive early transcriptional reprogramming, with enrichment of antioxidant metabolism, ABC transporters, MAPK signaling, and Cd transport-related genes, demonstrating coordinated physiological and molecular responses. XWX12 favored intracellular Cd sequestration and sustained antioxidant activation, whereas YZX relied more on uptake and translocation processes. Overall, these results highlight genotype-specific strategies in coping with combined Cd and temperature stress, providing mechanistic insights for improving rice tolerance and safety under warming and contaminated environments. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Physiological and Biochemical Responses of Plants to Heavy Metal Toxicity)
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25 pages, 2100 KB  
Article
Biopriming-Induced Transcriptomic Memory Enhances Cadmium Tolerance in the Cd Hyperaccumulator Silene sendtneri
by Mirel Subašić, Alisa Selović, Sabina Dahija, Arnela Demir, Jelena Samardžić, Andrea Bonomo, Gabriele Rigano, Domenico Giosa and Erna Karalija
Plants 2026, 15(2), 257; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants15020257 - 14 Jan 2026
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Abstract
Seed biopriming is increasingly recognized as a strategy capable of inducing molecular memory that enhances plant performance under heavy-metal stress. Here, we investigated how biopriming Silene sendtneri seeds with Paraburkholderia phytofirmans PsJN establishes a transcriptional state that predisposes seedlings for improved cadmium (Cd) [...] Read more.
Seed biopriming is increasingly recognized as a strategy capable of inducing molecular memory that enhances plant performance under heavy-metal stress. Here, we investigated how biopriming Silene sendtneri seeds with Paraburkholderia phytofirmans PsJN establishes a transcriptional state that predisposes seedlings for improved cadmium (Cd) tolerance. RNA-seq profiling revealed that primed seeds exhibited differential gene expression prior to Cd exposure, with strong upregulation of detoxification enzymes, antioxidant machinery, metal transporters, photosynthetic stabilizers, and osmoprotectant biosynthetic genes. Enrichment of gene ontology categories related to metal ion detoxification, redox homeostasis, phenylpropanoid metabolism, and cell wall organization indicated that biopriming imprints a preparatory transcriptional signature resembling early stress responses. Upon Cd exposure, primed plants displayed enhanced physiological performance, including preserved integrity, elevated antioxidant activity, particularly peroxidases in roots, higher osmolyte accumulation, stabilized micronutrient levels, and substantially increased Cd uptake and sequestration. These coordinated responses demonstrate that biopriming induces a sustained molecular memory that accelerates and strengthens downstream defense activation. These findings demonstrate that PGPR-based biopriming establishes a stable transcriptomic memory in seeds that enhances cadmium tolerance, metal sequestration, and stress resilience, highlighting its potential for improving hyperaccumulator performance in phytoremediation and stress adaptation strategies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Physiological and Biochemical Responses of Plants to Heavy Metal Toxicity)
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20 pages, 4079 KB  
Article
Oxidative Stress and Negative Consequences on Photosystem II Occasioned by Lead Stress Are Mitigated by 24-Epibrassinolide and Dopamine in Tomato Plants
by Lohana Ribeiro Prestes, Sharon Graziela Alves da Silva, Madson Mateus Santos da Silva, Maria Andressa Fernandes Gonçalves, Elaine Maria Silva Guedes Lobato, Caroline Cristine Augusto, Bruno Lemos Batista and Allan Klynger da Silva Lobato
Plants 2025, 14(23), 3699; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14233699 - 4 Dec 2025
Viewed by 843
Abstract
Food security and human health are directly related to the condition of agricultural soils. Soil contamination by heavy metals is a global environmental problem. Lead (Pb) is a toxic and non-biodegradable element posing a significant risk to ecosystems and human health. 24-Epibrassinolide (EBR) [...] Read more.
Food security and human health are directly related to the condition of agricultural soils. Soil contamination by heavy metals is a global environmental problem. Lead (Pb) is a toxic and non-biodegradable element posing a significant risk to ecosystems and human health. 24-Epibrassinolide (EBR) has multiple benefits in plant metabolism, including maximizing gas exchange. In plants, exogenous application of dopamine (DOP) confers tolerance to abiotic stresses, minimizing interferences on growth. This study aimed to investigate whether the exogenous application of EBR and DOP, administered independently or jointly, can contribute to mitigating the oxidative stress and impacts on photosystem II in Pb-stressed tomato, evaluating parameters related to nutritional status, photosystem II activity, gas exchange, antioxidant enzymes, and biomass. Better results were observed with the isolated EBR application, improving the photosynthetic efficiency, as evidenced by the increases in chlorophyll contents, effective quantum yield of PSII photochemistry, photochemical quenching coefficient, and electron transport rate, resulting in a higher net photosynthesis rate. Parallelly, treatment using both plant growth regulators (DOP and EBR) promoted significant increases of 14%, 18%, 13%, and 35% in the activities of superoxide dismutase, catalase, ascorbate peroxidase, and peroxidase, contributing to the reduction in oxidative stress in photosystem II of Pb-stressed plants. Therefore, this research proves that the exogenous application of DOP and EBR, alone or in combination, attenuates the toxic effects generated by Pb in tomato plants. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Physiological and Biochemical Responses of Plants to Heavy Metal Toxicity)
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