Mechanisms and Control of Nutrients, Beneficial Elements and Metals Uptake in Crops

Dear Colleagues,

Plants inhabit diverse soil types, each containing a range of elements, including essential nutrients; beneficial elements; and potentially harmful, toxic elements. While plants absorb essential elements for growth, they also uptake elements that can be beneficial by stimulating mechanisms of tolerance to biotic and abiotic stress. Conversely, plants may absorb toxic elements, which can cause severe damage. Some plants tolerate the presence of these toxic elements in their tissues by complexing them with organic molecules and/or storing them in organelles, thereby limiting their harmful effects. In these three cases—nutrient, beneficial, and toxic elements—there are mechanisms controlling their absorption, transport, utilization, and storage in tissues. Understanding the intricate processes governing the absorption, transport, utilization, and storage of these elements in plant tissues is crucial, particularly in agricultural contexts. Significant alterations in element availability and uptake can occur in the complex web of interactions within the rhizosphere, where plants interact with soil biota and root symbionts. For instance, there are still gaps in knowledge regarding how mycorrhizae trade nutrients for carbon and how environmental factors impact the elemental composition of plants or even their relationship with beneficial microbes. Moreover, understanding how plants regulate their need for nutrient requirements and signal deficiencies to their roots, thereby enhancing absorption, is essential for optimizing the effectiveness of nutrient use and reducing reliance on excessive fertilization, thus promoting sustainable agricultural practices.

Comprehending mechanisms of tolerance to stresses caused by toxic elements is critical too. Some plants have evolved mechanisms to withstand high levels of toxic elements in their tissues. Why do they spend energy on the uptake of these toxic elements, and how do they annul their toxic effects by accumulating them in inactive forms? Beneficial elements, which interfere with plant metabolism and attenuate stress effects, also warrant attention. Among others, elements such as selenium, silicon, and sodium have demonstrated benefits in mitigating salt stress, drought, high luminosity, temperature fluctuations, and attacks by pests and disease pressures. However, the processes underlying the absorption of these elements, whether through foliar or root uptake, remain inadequately understood.

In agriculture, micronutrient provision through foliar spraying is common yet poorly understood. The mechanisms of absorption and factors affecting the penetration of specific salts into leaves remain unclear. Furthermore, adjuvants play a significant role in leaf uptake, and emerging technologies like nanotechnology offer promising avenues for exploration.

This Special Issue addresses the mechanisms involved in both root and leaf uptake of nutrients, beneficial and toxic elements, and their regulatory processes. We will also consider manuscripts related to techniques used for improving nutrient absorption as long as a mechanism is described. Manuscripts describing cause and effect, i.e., experiments describing a plant response to a treatment, will not be considered for publication. Regarding the interaction of plants and microorganisms, we will consider manuscripts reporting on the mechanisms directly related to the uptake and transference of a plant. Manuscripts reporting changes in the nutrient concentration in the plant because of associations with microorganisms will not be considered for publication.

Prof. Dr. Paulo Mazzafera
Prof. Dr. Sara Adrian Lopes Andrade
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Agriculture is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• essential nutrients
• toxic metals
• beneficial elements
• root uptake
• leaf uptake
• nutrient use efficiency
• abiotic stress
• biotic stress
• toxicity