Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2022 Dec 8;11(24):3432.
doi: 10.3390/plants11243432.

The Integral Boosting Effect of Selenium on the Secondary Metabolism of Higher Plants

Liubov Skrypnik  1 , Pavel Feduraev  1 , Anton Golovin  1 , Pavel Maslennikov  1 , Tatiana Styran  1 , Maria Antipina  1 , Anastasiia Riabova  1 , Dmitriy Katserov  1
Affiliations
Review

The Integral Boosting Effect of Selenium on the Secondary Metabolism of Higher Plants

Liubov Skrypnik et al. Plants (Basel). .

Abstract

Selenium is a micronutrient with a wide range of functions in animals, including humans, and in microorganisms such as microalgae. However, its role in plant metabolism remains ambiguous. Recent studies of Se supplementation showed that not only does it increase the content of the element itself, but also affects the accumulation of secondary metabolites in plants. The purpose of this review is to analyze and summarize the available data on the place of selenium in the secondary metabolism of plants and its effect on the accumulation of some plant metabolites (S- and N-containing secondary metabolites, terpenes, and phenolic compounds). In addition, possible molecular mechanisms and metabolic pathways underlying these effects are discussed. It should be noted that available data on the effect of Se on the accumulation of secondary metabolites are inconsistent and contradictory. According to some studies, selenium has a positive effect on the accumulation of certain metabolites, while other similar studies show a negative effect or no effect at all. The following aspects were identified as possible ways of regulating plant secondary metabolism by Se-supplementation: changes occurring in primary S/N metabolism, hormonal regulation, redox metabolism, as well as at the transcriptomic level of secondary metabolite biosynthesis. In all likelihood, the confusion in the results can be explained by other, more complex regulatory mechanisms in which selenium is involved and which affect the production of metabolites. Further study on the involvement of various forms of selenium in metabolic and signaling pathways is crucial for a deeper understanding of its role in growth, development, and health of plants, as well as the regulatory mechanisms behind them.

Keywords: alkaloids; gene expression; glucosinolates; metabolic pathway; phenolic compounds; redox metabolism; selenium.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript; or in the decision to publish the results.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Pathways of Se uptake by plants classified as Se-hyperaccumulator and Se-non-hyperaccumulator.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Metabolism of Se in plants.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Effect of Se on the expression of genes and transcription factors involved in the secondary metabolism biosynthesis.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Schwarz K., Foltz C.M. Selenium as an integral part of factor 3 against dietary necrotic liver degeneration. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1957;79:3292–3293. doi: 10.1021/ja01569a087. - DOI - PubMed
    1. White P.J. Selenium metabolism in plants. Biochim. Biophys. Acta-Gen. Subj. 2018;1862:2333–2342. doi: 10.1016/j.bbagen.2018.05.006. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Gupta M., Gupta S. An Overview of Selenium Uptake, Metabolism, and Toxicity in Plants. Front. Plant Sci. 2017;7:2074. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2016.02074. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Schomburg L. Dietary Selenium and Human Health. Nutrients. 2017;9:22. doi: 10.3390/nu9010022. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Kieliszek M. Selenium–Fascinating Microelement, Properties and Sources in Food. Molecules. 2019;24:1298. doi: 10.3390/molecules24071298. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources