Fig. 2.

A proposed model describing how the two distinct types of Se toxicity might affect plant physiology. Inorganic Se contributes to oxidative stress, while its reduction to selenocysteine can inadvertently replace cysteine to create malformed selenoproteins. The possible targets and ramifications of Se-induced oxidative stress and non-specific selenoproteins are proposed, and illustrate the challenges of deciphering if Se stress is more attributable to just one mode of toxicity.