Multilevel Mechanisms by Which Membrane Transport Proteins Regulate Plant Responses to Heavy Metal Stress: From Ion Perception and Uptake Control to Systemic Signaling and Translational Perspectives.

Membrane transport proteins orchestrate plant heavy metal responses across cellular, systemic, and molecular levels, enabling regulation of metal uptake, sequestration, and signaling.

• Why it matters: Heavy metal contamination threatens sustainable agriculture and food safety, yet understanding of plant mechanisms for metal regulation remains incomplete, hindering crop improvement efforts.
• What they did: The review synthesizes recent advances involving over 20 transporter families, signaling pathways, and systemic communication processes, highlighting their roles in metal homeostasis and stress responses.
• The result: This integrated framework guides strategies for breeding and engineering crops with reduced metal accumulation and enhanced tolerance, leveraging emerging technologies like cryo-EM and single-cell transcriptomics.