Nickel; whether toxic or essential for plants and environment - A review
Babar Shahzada b✉, Mohsin Tanveerb c✉, Abdul Rehmand, Sardar Alam Cheemad, Shah Fahade, Shamsur Rehmanf, Anket Sharmag
- aSchool of Land and Food, University of Tasmania, Hobart, TAS, Australia. Electronic address: Babar.Shahzad@utas.edu.au
- bSchool of Land and Food, University of Tasmania, Hobart, TAS, Australia
- cSchool of Land and Food, University of Tasmania, Hobart, TAS, Australia. Electronic address: Mohsin.tanveer@utas.edu.au
- dDepartment of Agronomy, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan
- eCollege of Plant Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Hubei, China
- fNational Maize Key Laboratory, Department of Crop Biotechnology, School of Life Sciences, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei, 230036, China
- gDepartment of Botanical and Environmental Sciences, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, 143005, Punjab, India
- ✉Corresponding author
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Abstract
Nickel (Ni) is becoming a toxic pollutant in agricultural environments. Due to its diverse uses from a range of common household items to industrial applications, it is essential to examine Ni bioavailability in soil and plants. Ni occurs in the environment (soil, water and air) in very small concentrations and eventually taken up by plants through roots once it becomes available in soil. It is an essential nutrient for normal plant growth and development and required for the activation of several enzymes such as urease, and glyoxalase-I. Ni plays important roles in a wide range of physiological processes including seed germination, vegetative and reproductive growth, photosynthesis as well as in nitrogen metabolism. Therefore, plants cannot endure their life cycle without adequate Ni supply. However, excessive Ni concentration can lead to induce ROS production affecting numerous physiological and biochemical processes such as photosynthesis, transpiration, as well as mineral nutrition and causes phytotoxicity in plants. ROS production intensifies the disintegration of plasma membranes and deactivates functioning of vital enzymes through lipid peroxidation. This review article explores the essential roles of Ni in the life cycle of plant as well as its toxic effects in details. In conclusion, we have proposed different viable approaches for remediation of Ni-contaminated soils.