Abstract
Heavy metal accumulation in plants is a severe environmental problem, rising at an expeditious rate. Heavy metals such as cadmium, arsenic, mercury and lead are known environmental pollutants that exert noxious effects on the morpho-physiological and biological attributes of a plant. Due to their mobile nature, they have become an extended part of the food chain and affect human health. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi ameliorate metal toxicity as they intensify the plant’s ability to tolerate metal stress. Mycorrhizal fungi have vesicles, which are analogous to fungal vacuoles and accumulate massive amount of heavy metals in them. With the help of a pervasive hyphal network, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi help in the uptake of water and nutrients, thereby abating the use of chemical fertilizers on the plants. They also promote resistance parameters in the plants, secrete a glycoprotein named glomalin that reduces the metal uptake in plants by forming glycoprotein–metal complexes, and improve the quality of the soil. They also assist plants in phytoremediation by increasing the absorptive area, increase the antioxidant response, chelate heavy metals and stimulate genes for protein synthesis that reduce the damage caused by free radicals. The current manuscript focuses on the uptake of heavy metals, accumulation, and arbuscular mycorrhizal impact in ameliorating heavy metal stress in plants.
Highlights
A “heavy metal” is any element having metallic properties, with relatively high density, and is harmful at even low concentrations [1]
Small amounts of these heavy metals (HMs) are already present in the soil and atmosphere, but other things keep on adding these to the environment and include industrial and natural anthropogenic activities, fertilizers, polluted water, sewage sludge, the weathering of soil and Agronomy 2020, 10, 815; doi:10.3390/agronomy10060815
Limited transport of metal occurs from the roots to the above-ground parts of the plant, as during the translocation of HM ions between the roots and shoots, the endodermis acts as a partial barrier [76]
Summary
A “heavy metal” is any element having metallic properties, with relatively high density, and is harmful at even low concentrations [1]. High amounts of HMs in plant tissue exert toxicity in plants, disrupt cell membrane permeability, inhibit photosynthesis and mineral uptake, affect plant morpho-physiological and biological processes and inhibit the growth rate [1,11]. The main objective of this study is to review the role of AMF in maintaining a sustainable environment in an HM-contaminated ecosystem It includes the HMs’ impact on human health and plants. Non-essential metal have a bad impact on the environment, decreasing the biological activity of the soil. They enter the food chain and affect human health. A worldwide map of heavy activity of the soil According to EFSA, 0.20–0.30 μg kg−1 is the optimum/maximum level of As that should be present in food
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