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Description
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The plant-metalloid relationship is complex and challenging to study, since this class of elements, which show a combination of metal and non-metal features, can exert both beneficial and harmful effects on plant growth and productivity. Some of them, such as arsenic, could be introduced into the trophic chain by the consumption of contaminated plant material, consequently affecting the health of domestic animals and humans. During the recent years, great progress has been achieved in understanding the distribution of metalloids and subsequent mechanisms of response in plants, along with possible ways of utilizing beneficial metalloids for crop improvement and alleviating toxicity of hazardous metalloids. Metalloids such as silicon and boron, show positive regulatory effects on plant growth, biomass, metabolism, reproduction and productivity and are even necessary to ensure the proper structure of cell walls. Others, namely toxic metalloids such as arsenic, are a threat to crop sustenance and yield due to their ability to cause disruptions at morphological, physiological, biochemical, as well as molecular levels, and their persistence in agricultural soils and crops is increasing incessantly due to anthropogenic activities including mining, industrialization and improper agricultural practices. The research in understanding the intricate equation of metalloids to plant life has grown exponentially in the last few decades and has taken us few steps closer to the understanding of the complicated and partially resolved mechanisms such as transport, loading and unloading of metalloids in xylem cells during translocation in plants, their potential to mitigate other stresses and their interaction with plant hormones. This special issue entitled “Metalloids in Plant Biology: New Avenues in their Research” highlights the latest research in comprehending the role of metalloids in plant biology encompassing both positive and negative facets of their relationship. (2022-11-30)
***This entry has been automatically imported via Infodoc(ASO) CSV by LIST harvest scripts. Please refer to https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2021.126738 for the original and latest version of the dataset and data downloads*** (2025-09-02)
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