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Selenium in Plants

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Progress in Botany

Part of the book series: Progress in Botany ((BOTANY,volume 76))

Abstract

Selenium (Se) and sulfur (S) are chemically similar. Most plants cannot discriminate between the two, with the exception of Se hyperaccumulator species, which preferentially accumulate Se over S. Genetic engineering of various genes from the S/Se assimilation pathway has successfully enhanced plant Se tolerance, accumulation, and volatilization, in both laboratory and field. Results from genomic studies are beginning to shed better light on Se tolerance and (hyper)accumulation mechanisms, pointing to particular growth regulators (jasmonic acid, salicylic acid, ethylene) and constitutive upregulation of S/Se uptake and assimilation pathways. Selenium accumulation in plants profoundly affects ecological interactions. It protects plants from herbivores via both deterrence and toxicity, as well as from microbial pathogens. High-Se plants do not deter pollinators. Selenium hyperaccumulators enhance Se levels in neighboring plants, which can have a negative (allelopathic) effect if these are Se sensitive, but a positive effect if they are Se tolerant, via protection from herbivores. Thus, in seleniferous ecosystems Se hyperaccumulators may favor Se-resistant ecological partners while selecting against Se-sensitive partners. In this way, hyperaccumulators may affect species composition at multiple trophic levels, as well as Se cycling.

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Acknowledgments

Funding for Se research by Elizabeth A. H. Pilon-Smits was provided by the National Science Foundation (grant # IOS-0817748).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Biology Department, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, 80523-1878, USA

    Elizabeth A. H. Pilon-Smits

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  1. Elizabeth A. H. Pilon-Smits
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Correspondence to Elizabeth A. H. Pilon-Smits .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. TU Darmstadt FB Biologie, Darmstadt, Germany

    Ulrich Lüttge

  2. Universität Bielefeld W4-105 Lehrstuhl Experimentelle Ökologie, Bielefeld, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany

    Wolfram Beyschlag

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Pilon-Smits, E.A.H. (2015). Selenium in Plants. In: Lüttge, U., Beyschlag, W. (eds) Progress in Botany. Progress in Botany, vol 76. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-08807-5_4

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