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Updated: Jun 25, 2026

Hydroponics: A Versatile System to Study Nutrient Allocation and Plant Responses to Nutrient Availability and Exposure to Toxic Elements
Published on: July 13, 2016
Molecular mechanisms of metal hyperaccumulation in plants
Nathalie Verbruggen1, Christian Hermans1, Henk Schat2
1Laboratoire de Physiologie et de Génétique Moléculaire des Plantes, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Campus Plaine - CP242 - Bd du Triomphe, B-1050 Brussels, Belgium.
Abstract:
Metal hyperaccumulator plants accumulate and detoxify extraordinarily high concentrations of metal ions in their shoots. Metal hyperaccumulation is a fascinating phenomenon, which has interested scientists for over a century. Hyperaccumulators constitute an exceptional biological material for understanding mechanisms regulating plant metal homeostasis as well as plant adaptation to extreme metallic environments.Our understanding of metal hyperaccumulation physiology has recently increased as a result of the development of molecular tools. This review presents key aspects of our current understanding of plant metal – in particular cadmium (Cd),nickel (Ni) and zinc (Zn) – hyperaccumulation.
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