Silicon Uptake and Effects in Plants

Dear Colleagues,

Silicon holds a unique position in plant biology due to its vital contribution towards plant growth and development. However, its essentiality towards plants is always a debated issue, as most plants can complete their normal life cycle without supplementation of Si into the soil. Although it is the second most abundant element, the unavailability of the free silicon form and entrapment in recalcitrant silicate minerals restricts its availability to plants. More recently, it has been observed that the application of chemical fertilizers has depleted the normal Si availability in the soil. All these findings bring a resurgence of interest in studying the nutrient role of silicon as a beneficial element and to study the underlying mechanism involved in the uptake, transport, and status of its availability to plants. Silicon is mainly taken up in the undissociated silicic acid form, and is translocated in the same form through the xylem. During the process of translocation, it gets chemically mineralized to form silica aggregates (i.e., phytoliths) which resemble Si nanoparticles. In recent years, several studies have led to the conclusion that various influx and efflux transporters are involved in the process of silicon uptake and translocation. Therefore, in this Special Issue we will highlight the role of various mechanisms involved in silicon uptake and transport using transporters. We will also highlight the essentiality of Si in plants and focus on the heterogeneity of Si effects on uptake, distribution, and effects on the uptake of various forms of Si.

This Special Issue will cover any review, mini-review, and research article on topics related to the following sub-topics:

• Silicon uptake and transport in higher plants;
• Role of silicon in abiotic stresses;
• Role of transporters in silicon uptake;
• Effect of silicon on the uptake of other elements;
• Effect of silicon on the uptake of heavy metals;
• Uptake of various silica forms.

Dr. Harmanjit Kaur
Dr. Maria Greger
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.