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
Special Issue Editors
Interests: plant stress physiology; heavy metal phytoremediation; seed priming; epigenetic memory; secondary metabolites; oxidative stress
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 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
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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