Skip Navigation



JXB Advance Access published online on February 10, 2006
Journal of Experimental Botany, doi:10.1093/jxb/erj073
This Article
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
57/4/711    most recent
erj073v1
Right arrow E-letters: Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when E-letters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Disclaimer
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Sharma, S. S.
Right arrow Articles by Dietz, K.-J.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Sharma, S. S.
Right arrow Articles by Dietz, K.-J.
Agricola
Right arrow Articles by Sharma, S. S.
Right arrow Articles by Dietz, K.-J.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© The Author [2006]. Published by Oxford University Press [on behalf of the Society for Experimental Biology]. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org
Received February 16, 2005
Accepted November 22, 2005

REVIEW ARTICLE

The significance of amino acids and amino acid-derived molecules in plant responses and adaptation to heavy metal stress

Shanti S. Sharma 1 and Karl-Josef Dietz 2 *

1 Department of Biosciences, Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla 171 005, India
2 Department of Physiology and Biochemistry of Plants, Faculty of Biology, University of Bielefeld, D-33501 Bielefeld, Germany

* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
Karl-Josef Dietz, E-mail: karl-josef.dietz{at}uni-bielefeld.de


  Abstract

Plants exposed to heavy metals accumulate an array of metabolites, some to high millimolar concentrations. This review deals with N-containing metabolites frequently preferentially synthesized under heavy metal stress such as Cd, Cu, Ni, and Zn. Special focus is given to proline, but certain other amino acids and oligopeptides, as well as betaine, polyamines, and nicotianamine are also addressed. Particularly for proline a large body of data suggests significant beneficial functions under metal stress. In general, the molecules have three major functions, namely metal binding, antioxidant defence, and signalling. Strong correlative and mechanistic experimental evidence, including work with transgenic plants and algae, has been provided that indicates the involvement of metal-induced proline in metal stress defence. Histidine, other amino acids and particularly phytochelatins and glutathione play a role in metal binding, while polyamines function as signalling molecules and antioxidants. Their accumulation needs to be considered as active response and not as consequence of metabolic dys-regulation.

Keywords: Adaptation; amino acids; heavy metal stress; N-containing metabolites; proline; stress defence.
Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 J. Environ. Qual.Home page
R. H. Anderson, N. T. Basta, and R. P. Lanno
Partitioning Species Variability from Soil Property Effects on Phytotoxicity: ECx Normalization Using a Plant Contaminant Sensitivity Index
J. Environ. Qual., August 8, 2008; 37(5): 1701 - 1709.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 J Exp BotHome page
B. G. Forde and P. J. Lea
Glutamate in plants: metabolism, regulation, and signalling
J. Exp. Bot., July 1, 2007; 58(9): 2339 - 2358.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 J Exp BotHome page
J. Zhang, Z. He, H. Tian, G. Zhu, and X. Peng
Identification of aluminium-responsive genes in rice cultivars with different aluminium sensitivities
J. Exp. Bot., June 1, 2007; 58(8): 2269 - 2278.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 ANN BOT (LOND)Home page
V. E. Tsyganov, A. A. Belimov, A. Y. Borisov, V. I. Safronova, M. Georgi, K.-J. Dietz, and I. A. Tikhonovich
A Chemically Induced New Pea (Pisum sativum) Mutant SGECdt with Increased Tolerance to, and Accumulation of, Cadmium
Ann. Bot., February 1, 2007; 99(2): 227 - 237.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 J Exp BotHome page
U. Roth, E. von Roepenack-Lahaye, and S. Clemens
Proteome changes in Arabidopsis thaliana roots upon exposure to Cd2+
J. Exp. Bot., December 1, 2006; 57(15): 4003 - 4013.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 J Exp BotHome page
S. Mari, D. Gendre, K. Pianelli, L. Ouerdane, R. Lobinski, J.-F. Briat, M. Lebrun, and P. Czernic
Root-to-shoot long-distance circulation of nicotianamine and nicotianamine-nickel chelates in the metal hyperaccumulator Thlaspi caerulescens
J. Exp. Bot., December 1, 2006; 57(15): 4111 - 4122.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 J Exp BotHome page
A. Wawrzynski, E. Kopera, A. Wawrzynska, J. Kaminska, W. Bal, and A. Sirko
Effects of simultaneous expression of heterologous genes involved in phytochelatin biosynthesis on thiol content and cadmium accumulation in tobacco plants
J. Exp. Bot., July 1, 2006; 57(10): 2173 - 2182.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.