Habitat-specific allocations of elements in Atriplex lentiformis seeds indicate adaptation to metal toxicity.

Self-sustaining vegetation in metal-contaminated areas is essential for rebuilding ecological resilience and community stability in degraded lands. Metal-tolerant plants originating from contaminated post-mining areas may hold the key to successful plant establishment and growth. Yet, little is known about the impact of metal toxicity on reproductive strategies, metal accumulation, and allocation patterns at the seed stage.

Multimodal synchrotron X-ray fluorescence imaging reveals elemental distribution in seeds and seedlings of the Zn-Cd-Ni hyperaccumulator Noccaea caerulescens.

The molecular biology and genetics of the Ni-Cd-Zn hyperaccumulator Noccaea caerulescens has been extensively studied, but no information is yet available on Ni and Zn redistribution and mobilization during seed germination. Due to the different physiological functions of these elements, and their associated transporter pathways, we expected differential tissue distribution and different modes of translocation of Ni and Zn during germination. This study used synchrotron X-ray fluorescence tomography techniques as well as planar elemental X-ray imaging to elucidate elemental (re)distribution at various stages of the germination process in contrasting accessions of N.

Contrasting patterns of nickel distribution in the hyperaccumulators Phyllanthus balgooyi and Phyllanthus rufuschaneyi from Malaysian Borneo.

Globally, the majority of Ni hyperaccumulator plants occur on ultramafic soils in tropical regions, and the genus Phyllanthus, from the Phyllanthaceae family, is globally the most represented taxonomical group. Two species from Sabah (Malaysia) are remarkable because Phyllanthus balgooyi can attain >16 wt% of Ni in its phloem exudate, while Phyllanthus rufuschaneyi reaches foliar concentrations of up to 3.5 wt% Ni, which are amongst the most extreme concentrations of Ni in any plant tissue.

Convergent patterns of tissue-level distribution of elements in different tropical woody nickel hyperaccumulator species from Borneo Island.

The Malaysian state of Sabah on the Island of Borneo has recently emerged as a global hotspot of nickel hyperaccumulator plants. This study focuses on the tissue-level distribution of nickel and other physiologically relevant elements in hyperaccumulator plants with distinct phylogenetical affinities. The roots, old stems, young stems and leaves of (Salicaceae), (Phyllanthaceae), (Rubiaceae) and young stems and leaves of (Phyllanthaceae) were studied using nuclear microprobe (micro-PIXE and micro-BS) analysis.

Zinc allocation to and within seeds: Different strategies of metal homeostasis in accessions under divergent selection pressure.

Vegetative tissues of metal(loid)-hyperaccumulating plants are widely used to study plant metal homeostasis and adaptation to metalliferous soils, but little is known about these mechanisms in their seeds. We explored essential element allocation to seeds, a species that faces a particular trade-off between meeting nutrient requirements and minimizing toxicity risks.Combining advanced elemental mapping (micro-particle induced X-ray emission) with chemical analyses of plant and soil material, we investigated natural variation in Zn allocation to seeds from non-metalliferous and metalliferous locations.