Recent Trends in Enhancing the Resistance of Cultivated Plants to Heavy Metal Stress by Transgenesis and Transcriptional Programming

Normal growth and development of high plants strongly depends on the concentration of microelements, including essential heavy metals, in the substrate. However, an excess of those elements may become harmful. Therefore, micronutrient concentrations in plant tissue should be well-balanced and controlled by homeostatic mechanisms. The advancement of knowledge on the regulation of metal homeostasis in plants is important for phytoremediation of metal-contaminated soil and for micronutrient malnutrition control. Experimental data from loss-of-function and gain-of-function studies, including functional descriptions and classifications have presented new opportunities for multiplex CRISPR/dCas9-driven control of gene expression and have opened up new prospects for the goal-seeking regulation of metal homeostasis in plants. The aim of this review is to help for multiplex transcriptional programming targets search by summarizing and analyzing data on possible ways to handle a plant’s ability to maintain metal homeostasis.