Chemistry publications

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https://hdl.handle.net/2440/4285

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Browsing Chemistry publications by Author "Aarts, M.G.M."

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    Micro-analytical and molecular approaches for understanding the distribution, biochemistry, and molecular biology of selenium in (hyperaccumulator) plants
    (Springer Science and Business Media LLC, 2023) Pinto Irish, K.; Harvey, M.A.; Harris, H.H.; Aarts, M.G.M.; Chan, C.X.; Erskine, P.D.; van der Ent, A.
    Selenium (Se) is not essential for plants and is toxic at high concentrations. However, Se hyperaccumulator plants have evolved strategies to both tolerate and accumulate>1000 µg Se g−1 DW in their living above-ground tissues. Given the complexity of the biochemistry of Se, various approaches have been adopted to study Se metabolism in plants. These include X-ray-based techniques for assessing distribution and chemical speciation of Se, and molecular biology techniques to identify genes implicated in Se uptake, transport, and assimilation. This review presents these techniques, synthesises the current state of knowledge on Se metabolism in plants, and highlights future directions for research into Se (hyper)accumulation and tolerance. We conclude that powerful insights may be gained from coupling information on the distribution and chemical speciation of Se to genome-scale studies to identify gene functions and molecular mechanisms that underpin Se tolerance and accumulation in these ecologically and biotechnologically important plants species. The study of Se metabolism is challenging and is a useful testbed for developing novel analytical approaches that are potentially more widely applicable to the study of the regulation of a wide range of metal(loid)s in hyperaccumulator plants.
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    Multimodal synchrotron X-ray fluorescence imaging reveals elemental distribution in seeds and seedlings of the Zn-Cd-Ni hyperaccumulator Noccaea caerulescens
    (Oxford University Press (OUP), 2022) van der Ent, A.; de Jonge, M.D.; Echevarria, G.; Aarts, M.G.M.; Mesjasz-Przybyłowicz, J.; Przybyłowicz, W.J.; Brueckner, D.; Harris, H.H.
    The molecular biology and genetics of the Ni–Cd–Zn hyperaccumulator Noccaea caerulescens has been extensively studied, but no information is yet available on Ni and Zn redistribution and mobilization during seed germination. Due to the different physiological functions of these elements, and their associated transporter pathways, we expected differential tissue distribution and different modes of translocation of Ni and Zn during germination. This study used synchrotron X-ray fluorescence tomography techniques as well as planar elemental X-ray imaging to elucidate elemental ( re ) distribution at various stages of the germination process in contrasting accessions of N. caerulescens . The results show that Ni and Zn are both located primarily in the cotyledons of the emerging seedlings and Ni is highest in the ultramafic accessions ( up to 0.15 wt% ) , whereas Zn is highest in the calamine accession ( up to 600 μg g –1 ) . The distribution of Ni and Zn in seeds was very similar, and neither element was translocated during germination. The Fe maps were especially useful to obtain spatial reference within the seeds, as it clearly marked the vasculature. This study shows how a multimodal combination of synchrotron techniques can be used to obtain powerful insights about the metal distribution in physically intact seeds and seedlings.