Abstract
Several species from the Brassica genus are very important agricultural crops in different parts of the world and are also known to be heavy metal accumulators. There have been a large number of studies regarding the tolerance, uptake and defense mechanism in several of these species, notably Brassica juncea and B. napus, against the stress induced by heavy metals. Numerous studies have also been published about the capacity of these species to be used for phytoremediation purposes but with mixed results. This review will focus on the latest developments in the study of the uptake capacity, oxidative damage and biochemical and physiological tolerance and defense mechanisms to heavy metal toxicity on six economically important species: B. juncea, B. napus, B. oleracea, B. carinata, B. rapa and B. nigra.
Highlights
The genus Brassica (Brassicaceae) includes more than 30 species plus several varieties and hybrids [1].Among these are several important species in agriculture, used for human consumption, animal fodder, condiments, oil production, biofuel, among others [2]
Even if we restrict our analysis to a few species within the genus Brassica, we observe variation in the published results regarding metal uptake and the defense mechanisms used by the plants, and most of the reasons for this have been discussed above
Some of the Brassica species are reported to be suitable for this environmentally attractive technique, and show a moderate to high tolerance to several heavy metals, it seems that its full potential has yet to be met
Summary
The genus Brassica (Brassicaceae) includes more than 30 species plus several varieties and hybrids [1] Among these are several important species in agriculture, used for human consumption, animal fodder, condiments, oil production, biofuel, among others [2]. Brassica oleracea varieties include very common vegetables used for human consumption, like cabbages, broccoli, cauliflower and Brussel sprouts among others. They are an important source of many nutrients, of compounds with antioxidative activity and of other bioactive compounds such as some glucosinolates that are recognized as beneficial for human health [13,14]. We will evaluate the most recent discoveries in the accumulation and tolerance mechanisms of plants in the Brassica genus against heavy metal stress
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