Plant-Microbe Interactions in Heavy Metal-Contaminated Environments

Heavy metals such as cadmium, lead, and mercury pose a significant threat to the environment due to their non-biodegradability and bioaccumulation potential. In the plant-microbial system, heavy metals can disrupt the symbiotic relationships that are crucial for plant health and soil fertility. Plants may experience stunted growth, reduced photosynthesis, and oxidative stress when exposed to heavy metals, while soil microbes can have altered metabolic activities and community structures. Understanding these interactions is not only important for basic ecological research but also for developing sustainable strategies to remediate contaminated soils. Microbes can potentially enhance plant tolerance to heavy metals, and plants can influence microbial survival and function. This research topic thus addresses a key environmental and agricultural challenge with far-reaching implications.

Industrialization and improper waste disposal have led to widespread heavy metal contamination in soil and water. This pollution disrupts the plant-microbial system. High heavy metal concentrations are toxic to plants, causing reduced growth, inhibited photosynthesis, and oxidative stress. Heavy metals also change the composition and function of soil microbes. Some sensitive microbial species decline, while metal-resistant ones may increase. This disturbs crucial soil processes like nutrient cycling and organic matter decomposition. Phytoremediation and microbial-assisted phytoremediation are promising strategies. Phytoremediation uses plants to remove, stabilize, or transform heavy metals. Recent research focuses on identifying hyperaccumulator plants with high metal-uptake capabilities. Microbial-assisted phytoremediation is an emerging approach. Plant-growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) can enhance plant tolerance to heavy metals. PGPR can solubilize nutrients, produce phytohormones to stimulate plant growth, and chelate heavy metals, reducing their toxicity. Some bacteria can secrete organic acids that solubilize heavy metals, making them more available for plant uptake or easier to remove from the soil. Genetic engineering is also advancing this field. Scientists are modifying plants and microbes to enhance their metal-binding, sequestration, or detoxification abilities. Additionally, omics technologies (genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics) are being used to understand the molecular mechanisms of plant-microbial responses to heavy metals, providing a basis for more effective remediation strategies.

We accept articles on, but not limited to, the following topics:

- Mechanisms of heavy metal uptake and translocation in plants.
- Microbial-mediated heavy metal transformation and detoxification.
- Impact of heavy metals on plant–microbe symbiotic relationships.
- Genetic and epigenetic responses of plant-microbial systems to heavy metals.
- Field-scale applications of plant-microbial remediation for heavy metal-contaminated sites.

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• FAIR² DATA Direct Submission
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• FAIR² DATA Direct Submission
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Policy and Practice Reviews
• Review
• Systematic Review
• Technology and Code

Keywords: heavy metal contamination, plant-microbe interactions, pytoremediation, microbial-assisted remediation oxidative stress

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.