INTEGRATIVE MULTI-OMICS INSIGHTS INTO HEAVY METAL STRESS TOLERANCE IN AMARANTHUS: TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE PHYTOREMEDIATION AND NUTRACEUTICAL CROP DEVELOPMENT

L IQRA; S AIMEN; Q ALI

doi:10.64013/bbasr.v2026i1.127

Authors

L IQRA Department of Botany, Division of Science and Technology, University of Education, Lahore, Pakistan
S AIMEN Department of Botany, The Women University Multan, Pakistan
Q ALI Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, University of the Punjab, P.O BOX. 54590, Lahore, Pakistan

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.64013/bbasr.v2026i1.127

Keywords:

heavy metals, contaminated soil, high-throughput omics, antioxidative defense pathways

Abstract

Amaranthus spp. has great potential as a nutritionally complete, climate-resilient crop that is suited for cultivation on marginal or contaminated soils. However, the continuing increase in the amount of toxic heavy metals i.e., cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), and arsenic (As) present within soils, is a major limiting factor for crop productivity, food safety, and environmental sustainability. Recent advances in high-throughput omics technologies, which have produced system-level insights related to plant responses to stress, have not been effectively applied to amaranth. This review summarizes current scientific knowledge concerning the molecular mechanisms that underlie the ability of Amaranthus spp. to tolerate heavy metal stress through the use of integrative multi-omics strategies. These tolerance strategies include metal transport, chelation, antioxidant defense, and stress signaling, and will be considered through the lens of systems biology to illustrate how these mechanisms are coordinated with one another. A review of the current state of genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics research revealed critical issues with data integration, functional validation, and species-specific resources. Constraints such as low genetic diversity, low transformation efficiency, and multi-omics data integration difficulties are discussed. Future directions highlighted the integration of multi-omics with genome editing techniques and artificial intelligence to accelerate the development of heavy metal-tolerant and nutritionally-enhanced amaranth cultivars, thereby supporting sustainable agricultural systems and resilient food systems.

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