A geometric framework approach to understand multi-metal toxicity on individual organisms to evaluate relative risks and benefits of pollution and mit

Environmental pollution with metals is not exclusive to heavy metals but includes metals essential for
life. Organisms have adapted to harvest these often-scarce metals and use them in essential cellular
machinery such as superoxide dismutase (e.g. copper) and components of photosynthesis (e.g. iron,
manganese and copper). Currently, we have a reasonable understanding of the individual toxicity
levels of metals to overall health and organismal fitness. We are lacking a perspective on the levels of
toxicity and/or benefit to organisms with different essential metal metallobiology and how these
metals may influence cellular handling to cause interactions leading to unexpected effects in
mixtures. Importantly there are examples in the literature that suggest strong interdependency of
essential metals and with other elements, both lowering and heightening toxicity thresholds.