Zinc (Zn) is an essential plant micronutrient but is toxic in excess. To cope with excess Zn, plant species possess a strict metal homeostasis mechanism. The Zn hyperaccumulator Arabidopsis halleri has developed various adaptive mechanisms involving uptake, chelation, translocation and sequestration of Zn. In this mini review, we broadly discuss the different Zn tolerance mechanisms and then fo...

Zinc (Zn) is an essential micronutrient but may become toxic when present in excess. In Zn-contaminated environments, trees can be protected from Zn toxicity by their root-associated micro-organisms, in particular ectomycorrhizal fungi. The mechanisms of cellular Zn homeostasis in ectomycorrhizal fungi and their contribution to the host tree's Zn status are however not yet fully understood. The...

Zinc (Zn) is an essential micronutrient for plants. The ability of plants to maintain significant yields under low Zn is termed Zn efficiency (ZE) and its genetic and mechanistic basis is still not well understood. Previously, we showed that root Zn uptake did not play a role in ZE. In the current study, Zn-efficient and -inefficient wheat (Triticum aestivum) genotypes were grown for 13 d in ch...

Zinc (Zn) is an essential micronutrient for basic cell activities such as cell growth, differentiation, and survival. Zn deficiency depresses both innate and adaptive immune responses. However, the precise physiological mechanisms of the Zn-mediated regulation of the immune system have been largely unclear. Zn homeostasis is tightly controlled by the coordinated activity of Zn transporters and ...

Fe2O3 and ZnO nanoparticles were synthesized by a fast microwave method. Nanostructures were characterized by X-ray diffraction  and scanning electron microscopy. The goal of bio-fortification is to develop plants that have an increased content of bioavailable nutrients in their edible parts. The micronutrients magnesium (Mg), manganese (Mn) and copper (Cu), boron (B) and calcium (Ca) are essen...

In the present paper, new environmental-friendly fertilizer components were produced in biosorption process by the enrichment of the biomass with zinc, essential in plant cultivation. The obtained new preparations can be used as controlled release micronutrient fertilizers because microelements are bound to the functional groups present in the cell wall structures of the biomass. It is assumed ...

Copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn) are micronutrients essential for growth and differentiation of all organisms, but are often deficient in human diet. In the present study, transgenic tobacco plants expressing two fungal genes namely a copper transporter (tcu-1) and a zinc transporter (tzn1) gene from Neurospora crassa were developed and the plants showed enhanced acquisition of Cu and Zn respectively ...