El Khattabi O. auteur aut IRD Lamwati Y. auteur aut IRD Henkrar F. auteur aut IRD Collin B. auteur aut IRD Levard Clément auteur aut IRD Colin Fabrice auteur aut IRD Smouni A. auteur aut IRD Fahr M. auteur aut IRD text journalArticle eng text/pdf reformatted digital access Lead (Pb) is one of the most harmful toxic metals and causes severe damage to plants even at low concentrations. Pb inhibits plant development, reduces photosynthesis rates, and causes metabolic disfunctions. Plant cells display these alterations in the form of abnormal morphological modifications resulting from ultrastructural changes in the cell wall, plasma membrane, chloroplast, endoplasmic reticulum, mitochondria, and nuclei. Depending on plant tolerance capacity, the ultrastructural changes could be either a sign of toxicity that limits plant development or an adaptive strategy to cope with Pb stress. This paper gathers data on Pb-induced changes in cell ultrastructure observed in many tolerant and hyperaccumulator plants and describes the ultrastructural changes that appear to be mechanisms to alleviate Pb toxicity. The different modifications caused by Pb in cell organelles are summarized and reinforced with hypotheses that provide an overview of plant responses to Pb stress and explain the physiological and morphological changes that occur in tolerant plants. These ultrastructural modifications could help assess the potential of plants for use in phytoremediation. specialized Cell Heavy metal Lead Organelle Oxidative stress Plant Tolerance Ultrastructure 076 020 38 1 1-19 2025 0966-0844 https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010091393 10.1007/s10534-024-00639-5 0966-0844 [F B010091393] https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010091393 https://horizon.documentation.ird.fr/exl-doc/pleins_textes/2025-09/010091393.pdf IRD - Base Horizon / Pleins textes 2024-11-13 2025-11-04 fdi:010091393 fre