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Boron in Plants: A Century of Research
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Boron in Plants: A Century of Research

A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2022) | Viewed by 8030

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Agustín González-Fontes

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Departamento de Fisiología, Anatomía y Biología Celular, Universidad Pablo de Olavide, E-41013 Sevilla, Spain
Interests: plant boron
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Fangsen Xu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Resources and Environment, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
Interests: plant boron physiology and molecular biology

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Boron is one of the 17 chemical elements that in mineral nutrition of vascular plants is recognized as essential, that is, indispensable for the development of these organisms. On the occasion of the centenary of the first time that boron was proposed as an essential element for plants, which will be commemorated next year, we thought it appropriate to launch a Special Issue dedicated to this plant micronutrient. Since the first definitive structural function of boron was established in 1996, remarkable progress has been made in understanding the effects of boron deficiency and toxicity on a wide variety of plants. Although the structural function of boron in the cell wall is well defined, other possible essential or beneficial roles of this micronutrient in a large number of physiological processes are not completely understood, nor are the molecular mechanisms underlying these potential roles. In addition, the mechanisms of detection of boron toxicity remain to be fully elucidated, as well as the transport mechanisms and transporters by which plants tolerant to boron toxicity accumulate lower boron concentrations than intolerant plants. In this regard, plant biotechnology work is needed to improve boron toxicity tolerance, for example, by increasing the efficiency of efflux transporters of boron compounds.

In this Special Issue, we encourage boron researchers to make their contributions on all these aspects, both from a basic and applied standpoint. We also encourage them to participate with theoretical articles on these boron topics, provided they are sufficiently argued.

Prof. Dr. Agustín González-Fontes
Prof. Dr. Fangsen Xu
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

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. Plants 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 2700 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.

Keywords

  • boron functions
  • boron transport
  • boron deficiency
  • boron toxicity
  • boron in soils
  • boron and other stresses

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

20 pages, 2094 KiB  
Article
Leaf Proteomic Analysis in Seedlings of Two Maize Landraces with Different Tolerance to Boron Toxicity
by Betty Maribel Mamani-Huarcaya, María Teresa Navarro-Gochicoa, María Begoña Herrera-Rodríguez, Juan José Camacho-Cristóbal, Carlos Juan Ceacero, Óscar Fernández Cutire, Agustín González-Fontes and Jesús Rexach
Plants 2023, 12(12), 2322; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12122322 - 15 Jun 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1711
Abstract
Boron (B) toxicity is an important stressor that negatively affects maize yield and the quality of the produce. The excessive B content in agricultural lands is a growing problem due to the increase in arid and semi-arid areas because of climate change. Recently, [...] Read more.
Boron (B) toxicity is an important stressor that negatively affects maize yield and the quality of the produce. The excessive B content in agricultural lands is a growing problem due to the increase in arid and semi-arid areas because of climate change. Recently, two Peruvian maize landraces, Sama and Pachía, were physiologically characterized based on their tolerance to B toxicity, the former being more tolerant to B excess than Pachía. However, many aspects regarding the molecular mechanisms of these two maize landraces against B toxicity are still unknown. In this study, a leaf proteomic analysis of Sama and Pachía was performed. Out of a total of 2793 proteins identified, only 303 proteins were differentially accumulated. Functional analysis indicated that many of these proteins are involved in transcription and translation processes, amino acid metabolism, photosynthesis, carbohydrate metabolism, protein degradation, and protein stabilization and folding. Compared to Sama, Pachía had a higher number of differentially expressed proteins related to protein degradation, and transcription and translation processes under B toxicity conditions, which might reflect the greater protein damage caused by B toxicity in Pachía. Our results suggest that the higher tolerance to B toxicity of Sama can be attributed to more stable photosynthesis, which can prevent damage caused by stromal over-reduction under this stress condition. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Boron in Plants: A Century of Research)
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9 pages, 4732 KiB  
Communication
Effect of Three Boron Concentrations in Soil on Growth and Physiology in Sweet Cherry Trees
by Gerardo Arredondo and Claudia Bonomelli
Plants 2023, 12(6), 1240; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12061240 - 9 Mar 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2603
Abstract
Boron (B) is an essential element for plants. B availability depends on the physical and chemical characteristics of the soil and the quality of irrigation water. Under natural conditions, both toxic and deficit concentrations can occur and should be managed for crop production. [...] Read more.
Boron (B) is an essential element for plants. B availability depends on the physical and chemical characteristics of the soil and the quality of irrigation water. Under natural conditions, both toxic and deficit concentrations can occur and should be managed for crop production. However, the range between deficiency and toxicity is narrow. The objective of this study was to determine the response of cherry trees to deficient (0.04 mg kg−1), adequate (1.1 mg kg−1), and toxic (3.75 mg kg−1) B concentrations in the soil by measuring growth, biomass, photosynthetic parameters, visual symptoms, and morphological changes. Plants treated with a toxic dose had more spurs and shorter internodes than those treated with adequate and deficient doses. The white root weight (50.5 g) at low B concentrations had the most roots compared with the adequate (33.0 g) and toxic (22.0 g) concentrations. The stem weight and biomass partitioning were higher for white roots and stems at B-deficient and -adequate doses than at toxic doses. The net photosynthesis (Pn) and transpiration rate (E) were significantly higher in plants with adequate concentrations of B. Stomatal conductance (Gs) was higher in B-deficient plants. Morphological and visual differences were observed between treatments. The results showed that it is essential to adequately manage B in cherry crops to avoid the adverse effects of both low and toxic concentrations. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Boron in Plants: A Century of Research)
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8 pages, 1286 KiB  
Article
Growth and Distribution of Boron in Oilseed Rape (Brassica napus L.) as Affected by Boron Supply
by Anh Quang Dinh, Asif Naeem and Karl H. Mühling
Plants 2022, 11(20), 2746; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants11202746 - 17 Oct 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2122
Abstract
Oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.) is one of the most important oilseed crops. It has relatively high boron (B) requirements for growth. In this study, a hydroponic experiment was performed to determine the critical B requirement and B distribution in B. napus [...] Read more.
Oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.) is one of the most important oilseed crops. It has relatively high boron (B) requirements for growth. In this study, a hydroponic experiment was performed to determine the critical B requirement and B distribution in B. napus. The plants were grown for four weeks at a range of B levels (from 0.25 to 1000 µM) supplied in a nutrient solution. The results showed significant differences in the root and shoot dry matter and B accumulation in these tissues among the supplied B levels. Severe visible symptoms of B deficiency were observed on the leaves at levels lower than 1 µM B and toxicity at 1000 µM B in the nutrient solution. The maximum shoot and root dry matter were recorded at 25 µM B in the nutrient solution. The plants supplied with the lowest and the highest B levels produced 35% and 37% less shoot dry matter than those supplied with 25 µM B, while the corresponding decreases in the root dry matter were 48% and 36%, respectively. The critical concentration of B, which is the lowest concentration at which plants produce 90% of the maximum shoot dry matter, was proven to be 1 µM B for oilseed rape. At this level of external B supply, the B concentration in the shoot was 26.9 mg kg−1 DM. It was found that with the increase in B levels in the nutrient solution, the relative distribution of B between the roots and the shoots shifted in favor of the shoots. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Boron in Plants: A Century of Research)
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