Copper Stress and Responses in Plants

Abstract

Copper is a micronutrient necessary for normal plant growth and development; however, its deficiency and redundancy result in some defects in plant metabolism, especially photosynthesis. Plants are evolved to counterattack the adverse effects of copper by developing protective mechanisms, one of which is exclusion of copper ions from the cells by sequestration, which is a kind of isolation Cu from cellular components. The other way is reduction of ion uptake by roots. When the roots are exposed to excess copper, then detoxification strategies such as metal chelation and transport and activation of signal mechanisms, hormones, proteins, and antioxidant system are induced. This chapter gives an overview of the effect of copper stress on plant growth, photosynthesis, and the antioxidant system. We present insight into genetic and molecular aspects of signal transduction in response to copper stress. © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.