The biomineralization of silica induced stress tolerance in plants: a case study for aluminum toxicity

ABSTRACT

Biomineralization in plant roots refers to the process of cell-induced self-assembly to form nanostructures on the root surface. Silicon (Si) is the second most abundant element in soils, and beneficial to plant growth. Meanwhile, silicon is shown to participate in the process of biomineralization, which is useful for improving mechanical strength and alleviating biotic and abiotic stress, for example silicic acid polymerizes to form amorphous silica (SiO₂–nH₂O) in the process of growing to resist fungi and environmental stress. This process alters physical and chemical properties of cell wall. However, the mechanistic basis of this process remains unclear. Aluminum toxicity is a major constraint affecting plant performance in acid soil. This paper summarizes recent research advances in the field of plant biomineralization and describes the effects of silicon biomineralization on plant aluminum tolerance and its adaptive significance, using aluminum toxicity as a case study.

KEYWORDS:

• Biomineralization
• aluminum toxicity
• acid soil
• biosilicification

Acknowledgments

This research was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, Ministry of Science and Technology of China, Science and Technology Department of Guangdong Province, Higher Education Department of Guangdong Province, and Natural and Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities of China. The above materials were provided by Department of Horticulture, Foshan University,and Figure 2 was supported (in part) under the state contract of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation (Project No. 122050400128).

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 42077150, 32172672, 31672228, 31172038), Ministry of Science and Technology of China (CB02-07, G2022030079L, G2021030008L, G2021030014L, DL20200230002,), the Science and Technology Department of Guangdong Province (Grant No. 2018A050506085, 2015A040404048, 2019A1515110059, 163-2018-XMZC-0001-05-0049, 2022B1212010015, 2017-1649), the Higher Education Department of Guangdong Province (Grant No. 2020KCXTD025), the Natural and Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities of China (Grant No. 2662019PY013).