Chapter 11 - Magnesium homeostasis mechanisms and magnesium use efficiency in plants

Abstract

Magnesium (Mg) is one of the most important nutrient, involves mainly in plant growth and development. However, the importance of Mg has been ignored in recent decades by the people, who generally regard Mg in plants as an unsevere problem for human life. Recent studies have shown, surprisingly, that Mg contents in historical cereal seeds have markedly declined over time, and two-thirds of people surveyed in developed countries received less than their minimum daily Mg requirement. Thus, it is most important for improving the development of Mg homeostasis mechanisms and its use efficiency in plants. Many environment and intracellular factors affect Mg homeostasis in plants, such as Mg deficiency and toxicity, high temperature, drought, high light, low pH, and antagonism ions. The most gratifying things are that some Mg transporters and signal factors response to Mg stresses were discovered in the last years, including Mg2+/H+ exchanger 1 (MHX1), GA negative proteins (DELLAs), ABA insensitive 1 (ABI1), and CBL (calcineurin B-like proteins)-interacting protein kinase complexes (CBL–CIPKs), and omics helped in discovering novel opinions. Those new discoveries may improve genetic modification of crops for efficient biofortification of Mg.