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Arsenic in Rice: An Overview on Stress Implications, Tolerance and Mitigation Strategies

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Plants Under Metal and Metalloid Stress

Abstract

Majority of world’s inhabitants consume rice (Oryza sativa L.) and rice products as staple food and major source of carbohydrate. Rice is a strong accumulator of inorganic arsenic (As). Arsenic enters into rice as a result of extensive use of As-contaminated ground water for irrigation of rice field and several other natural or anthropogenic factors. As is non-biodegradable and remains persistent in the soil for a long period of time, thereby enters into the food chain, exerting hazardous impacts on animal health. In comparison to other cereal crops, rice being an efficient arsenic bio-accumulator, the nutritional quality of rice is severely affected due to As toxicity. It enters into the rice system and accumulates through different root transporters – phosphate transporters for As(V), noduline 26-like intrinsic proteins (NIPs) for As (III) and membrane bound aquaporin channels. Researches have been focused to understand and mitigate the impact of arsenic toxicity on rice by evaluating various complex physio-molecular mechanisms associated with the arsenic transport. Screening of the landraces and other genetic stocks for better tolerance and/or resistance nature and incorporation in the breeding strategy, changing in agronomical and cultural practices, biotechnological approaches, etc. appear to be immensely important to understand the impact of the metalloid (like arsenic) in rice. This chapter encompasses the physiological and molecular insight of As transport, accumulation, tolerance and mitigation strategies towards the rice improvement program with a concern of health hazard.

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Abbreviations

AM:

Arbuscular mycorrhiza

AR:

Arsenate reductase

As:

Arsenic

BS:

Bundle sheath

CS:

Casperian strip

DMA:

Dimethylarsinic acid

GSH:

Reduced glutathione

GSSG:

Oxidised glutathione

Lsi:

Silicon and/or arsenic transporter

MMA:

Monomethylarsonic acid

MT:

Metallothionine

NIP:

Noduline 26 like intrinsic protein

NRAMP:

Natural resistance associated macrophage protein

PC:

Phytochelatins

PCC:

Phloem companion cell

PCS:

Phytochelatin synthase

PSR:

Phosphate starvation response

PT:

Phosphate transporter

ROS:

Reactive oxygen species

TMA:

Trimethylarsine

XTC:

Xylem transfer cell

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Acknowledgement

This work is the outcome of the part of Extramural Research Project vide 38(1430)/17/EMR-II supported by Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), New Delhi, India.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Plant Stress Biology and Metabolomics Laboratory, Central Instrumentation Laboratory (CIL), Assam Central University, Silchar, India

    Rajib Roychowdhury & Shuvasish Choudhury

  2. Department of Vegetables and Field Crops, Institute of Plant Sciences, Agricultural Research Organization (ARO) – Volcani Center, Rishon LeZion, Israel

    Rajib Roychowdhury

  3. Department of Botany, Ramakrishna Mahavidyalaya, Kailashar, Unakoti, Tripura, India

    Md. Hussain Khan

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  1. Rajib Roychowdhury
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  2. Md. Hussain Khan
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  3. Shuvasish Choudhury
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Agronomy, Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, Dhaka, Bangladesh

    Mirza Hasanuzzaman

  2. Department of Agricultural Botany, Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, Dhaka, Bangladesh

    Kamrun Nahar

  3. Faculty of Agriculture, Kagawa University, Miki, Kagawa, Japan

    Masayuki Fujita

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Roychowdhury, R., Khan, M.H., Choudhury, S. (2018). Arsenic in Rice: An Overview on Stress Implications, Tolerance and Mitigation Strategies. In: Hasanuzzaman, M., Nahar, K., Fujita, M. (eds) Plants Under Metal and Metalloid Stress. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-2242-6_15

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