Synonyms
Definition
The entry addresses plant exposure to lead, uptake and accumulation of lead in plants, lead toxicity and detoxification, as well as environmental and human health consequences of plant lead accumulation.
Introduction
Lead (Pb) has no biological functions in organisms including plants. Ever since the beginning of human civilization, however, plants have been exposed to a nearly exponentially increasing Pb emission closely linked with technological development. Pb ranks first among heavy metals with respect to tonnage produced and release into the environment. Because Pb is highly malleable and easy to extract and to smelt, its use has been widespread for thousands of years, dating back to the origins of metal technology (Nriagu 1998). Pb is highly toxic and therefore an important pollutant of worldwide concern. It is placed number two on the CERCLA priority list of hazardous substances, assembled by the US Environmental Protection Agency and the Agency...
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Clemens S (2006) Toxic metal accumulation, responses to exposure and mechanisms of tolerance in plants. Biochimie 88:1707–1719
EFSA Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain (2010) Scientific opinion on lead in food. EFSA J 8:1570
Kabata-Pendias A, Pendias H (2001) Trace elements in soils and plants. CRC Press, Boca Raton
Kopittke PM, Asher CJ, Menzies NW (2008) Prediction of Pb speciation in concentrated and dilute nutrient solutions. Environ Pollut 153:548–554
Kopittke PM, Pax F, Blamey C, Asher CJ, Menzies NW (2010) Trace metal phytotoxicity in solution culture: a review. J Exp Bot 61:945–954
Krämer U (2010) Metal hyperaccumulation in plants. Annu Rev Plant Biol 61:517–534
McLaughlin MJ, Parker DR, Clarke JM (1999) Metals and micronutrients – food safety issues. Field Crops Res 60:143–163
Nriagu JO (1998) Tales told in lead. Science 281:1622–1623
Pourrut B, Shahid M, Dumat C, Winterton P, Pinelli E (2011) Lead uptake, toxicity, and detoxification in plants. Rev Environ Contam Toxicol 213:113–136
Xiao S, Gao W, Chen Q-F, Ramalingam S, Chye M-L (2008) Overexpression of membrane-associated acyl-CoA-binding protein ACBP1 enhances lead tolerance in Arabidopsis. Plant J 54:141–151
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2013 Springer Science+Business Media New York
About this entry
Cite this entry
Clemens, S. (2013). Lead in Plants. In: Kretsinger, R.H., Uversky, V.N., Permyakov, E.A. (eds) Encyclopedia of Metalloproteins. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-1533-6_323
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-1533-6_323
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-4614-1532-9
Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-1533-6
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesReference Module Biomedical and Life Sciences