Open Access

REVIEW

Aluminum Toxicity: A Case Study on Tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.)

by Munir Ozturk^1,*, Mert Metin², Volkan Altay³, Tomonori Kawano², Alvina Gul⁴, Bengu Turkyilmaz Unal^5,*, Dilek Unal⁶, Rouf Ahmad Bhat⁷, Moonisa Aslam Dervash⁸, Kristina Toderich⁹, Esra Koc¹⁰, Pedro Garcia Caparros¹¹, Andleeb Shahzadi¹²

1 Department of Botany and Centre for Environmental Studies, Ege University, Izmir, 35100, Turkiye
2 Graduate School of Environmental Engineering, The University of Kitakyushu, Fukuoka, 808-0135, Japan
3 Department of Biology, Faculty of Science and Arts, Hatay Mustafa Kemal University, Hatay, 31060, Turkiye
4 Atta-ur-Rahman School of Applied Biosciences, National University of Sciences & Technology, Islamabad, 44000, Pakistan
5 Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Science and Arts, Nigde Omer Halisdemir University, Nigde, 51240, Turkiye
6 Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Faculty of Science and Arts, University of Bilecik Seyh Edebali, Bilecik, 11230, Turkiye
7 Department of Environmental Science, Sri Pratap College, Cluster University Srinagar, Kashmir, 190008, India
8 Division of Environmental Sciences, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, Kashmir, 190025, India
9 International Platform for Dryland Research and Education, Tottori University, Tottori, 680-0001, Japan
10 Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Ankara University, Ankara, 06100, Turkiye
11 Department of Superior School Engineering, University of Almería, Almería, 04120, Spain
12 Department of Medical Pharmacology, Cerrahpasa Medicine Faculty, Istanbul University-Cerrahpasa, Istanbul, 34096, Turkiye

* Corresponding Authors: Munir Ozturk. Email: ; Bengu Turkyilmaz Unal. Email:

Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany 2023, 92(1), 165-192. https://doi.org/10.32604/phyton.2022.022038

Received 17 February 2022; Accepted 13 May 2022; Issue published 06 September 2022

Abstract

Aluminum is an abundant metal in the earth’s crust that turns out to be toxic in acidic environments. Many plants are affected by the presence of aluminum at the whole plant level, at the organ level, and at the cellular level. Tobacco as a cash crop (Nicotiana tabacum L.) is a widely cultivated plant worldwide and is also a good model organism for research. Although there are many articles on Al-phytotoxicity in the literature, reviews on a single species that are economically and scientifically important are limited. In this article, we not only provide the biology associated with tobacco Al-toxicity, but also some essential information regarding the effects of this metal on other plant species (even animals). This review provides information on aluminum localization and uptake process by different staining techniques, as well as the effects of its toxicity at different compartment levels and the physiological consequences derived from them. In addition, molecular studies in recent years have reported specific responses to Al toxicity, such as overexpression of various protective proteins. Besides, this review discusses data on various organelle-based responses, cell death, and other mechanisms, data on tobacco plants and other kingdoms relevant to these studies.

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Keywords

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