Physiological and molecular advances in magnesium nutrition of plants.

Background: Mg is a macronutrient for plant growth. Mg deficiency has become an important limiting factor in intensive agricultural production, resulting in reduced crop yield and quality. Given that Mg is also essential for human and animals' diets, Mg nutrition in plants has become an important issue not only for food security but also for human health. Scope: We review recent progress in physiological and molecular mechanisms underlying Mg biological functionality, as well as Mg transport and Mg deficiency symptoms in plants. Conclusions: As both a structural component and a regulatory factor, Mg helps plants achieve higher photosynthetic efficiency, nitrogen use efficiency and stress resistance. Plants need a certain range of Mg concentration for their growth, and a number of key genes responsible for Mg uptake, translocation and detoxification have been identified. Despite its functional importance, basic researches on Mg nutrition are still scarce. A deeper investigation of the genetic and molecular mechanisms employed in Mg nutrition will help to improve crop yield and intensify Mg application in the field. Developing more approaches to enhance Mg concentration in crop edible parts is urgently required for human diet and health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]