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Unregulated anthropogenic activity and inadequate management practices for waste disposal leads to the accumulation of heavy metals (HMs) in the soil and groundwater, which threatens plant growth and poses significant challenges to food security. HMs impede the absorption of various essential metal ions by competing for their binding sites in plant roots, leading to alterations in vital metabolic processes, including photosynthesis, respiration, etc. To mitigate HMs toxicity, crop plants inherently possess several defence mechanisms, such as metal sequestration into vacuoles, phytochelation, and cell wall metal adsorption. The vulnerability to HMs triggers the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which eventually interrupts the seed-germination, initial seedling growth and development, and nutrients homeostasis. The toxicity of some HMs such as mercury, lead, arsenic, and cadmium not only causes oxidative stress in plants, which reduce growth and yield, but can also accumulate in edible parts and pose a hazard to human health. Hence, understanding of these mechanisms underlying the accumulation and tolerance of HMs in plants are necessary. Various crop defence mechanisms have been investigated to mitigate these effects. Traditional agronomic strategies, including soil management, biofortification, and the application of specific growth-promoting microorganisms, improve crop resilience to metal toxicity. Advancements in biotechnology, specifically transgenic plants and CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing technology, provide precise and effective methods for developing crops with enhanced resilience to heavy metal toxicity. Transgenic crops have been developed to express specific genes that simplify the detoxification, confinement, or marginalization of toxic metals. This chapter critically explores agronomical, biochemical and molecular strategies highlighting their potential to mitigate heavy metal/metalloid-induced toxicity and accumulation, hence promoting sustainable agriculture and food safety in contaminated regions.

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Crop Defence Mechanisms to Minimize Heavy Metal-Induced Toxicity and Accumulation

  • 章节

  • 发表日期：

    2026年

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  • Anjali Sharma,
  • Sandeep Sharma,
  • G. Andonissamy Daniel,
  • Renu Pandey

摘要

Unregulated anthropogenic activity and inadequate management practices for waste disposal leads to the accumulation of heavy metals (HMs) in the soil and groundwater, which threatens plant growth and poses significant challenges to food security. HMs impede the absorption of various essential metal ions by competing for their binding sites in plant roots, leading to alterations in vital metabolic processes, including photosynthesis, respiration, etc. To mitigate HMs toxicity, crop plants inherently possess several defence mechanisms, such as metal sequestration into vacuoles, phytochelation, and cell wall metal adsorption. The vulnerability to HMs triggers the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which eventually interrupts the seed-germination, initial seedling growth and development, and nutrients homeostasis. The toxicity of some HMs such as mercury, lead, arsenic, and cadmium not only causes oxidative stress in plants, which reduce growth and yield, but can also accumulate in edible parts and pose a hazard to human health. Hence, understanding of these mechanisms underlying the accumulation and tolerance of HMs in plants are necessary. Various crop defence mechanisms have been investigated to mitigate these effects. Traditional agronomic strategies, including soil management, biofortification, and the application of specific growth-promoting microorganisms, improve crop resilience to metal toxicity. Advancements in biotechnology, specifically transgenic plants and CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing technology, provide precise and effective methods for developing crops with enhanced resilience to heavy metal toxicity. Transgenic crops have been developed to express specific genes that simplify the detoxification, confinement, or marginalization of toxic metals. This chapter critically explores agronomical, biochemical and molecular strategies highlighting their potential to mitigate heavy metal/metalloid-induced toxicity and accumulation, hence promoting sustainable agriculture and food safety in contaminated regions.