Arsenic affects mineral nutrients in grains of various Indian rice (Oryza sativa L.) genotypes grown on arsenic-contaminated soils of West Bengal

Abstract

The exposure of paddy fields to arsenic (As) through groundwater irrigation is a serious concern that may not only lead to As accumulation to unacceptable levels but also interfere with mineral nutrients in rice grains. In the present field study, profiling of the mineral nutrients (iron (Fe), phosphorous, zinc, and selenium (Se)) was done in various rice genotypes with respect to As accumulation. A significant genotypic variation was observed in elemental retention on root Fe plaque and their accumulation in various plant parts including grains, specific As uptake (29-167 mg kg(-1) dw), as well as As transfer factor (4-45%). Grains retained the least level of As (0.7-3%) with inorganic As species being the dominant forms, while organic As species, viz., dimethylarsinic acid and monomethylarsonic acid, were non-detectable. In all tested varieties, the level of Se was low (0.05-0.12 mg kg(-1) dw), whereas that of As was high (0.4-1.68 mg kg(-1) dw), considering their safe/recommended daily intake limits, which may not warrant their human consumption. Hence, their utilization may increase the risk of arsenicosis, when grown in As-contaminated areas.

Arsenic accumulation in native plants of West Bengal, India: prospects for phytoremediation but concerns with the use of medicinal plants

“…In laboratory, plant samples were divided into roots, shoots and leaves, washed thoroughly with double distilled water for removing the adhering soil particles, blotted and oven dried at 80 • C for 72 h. For analysis of metals (Cu, Zn, and Pb) and metalloids (As and Se), 0.5 g oven dried tissue was taken and digested in 3 ml of HNO 3 as detailed previously (Dwivedi et al 2010b). The metals and metalloids (Cu, Zn, Pb, Se, and As) were quantified with the help of inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (ICP-MS, Agilent 7500 cx).…”

“…Specific metal uptake indicates the ability of total metal accumulation in different plant parts of collected species and it was calculated according to Zhang and Duan (2008) with slight modification as reported in Dwivedi et al (2010b). Transfer factor (TF) for As was calculated as per the following formula: TF = shoot As concentration / root As concentration.…”

“…The ability of plants to accumulate both essential and non-essential metals due to ionic mimicry and present day widespread As contamination also means that As accumulation may occur to toxic levels in economically important plants; to cite the worst case of its kind is the As accumulation in rice grains (Williams et al 2005;Dwivedi et al 2010b). However, no study, to the best of our knowledge, has concentrated on determining As accumulation in medicinally important and traditionally used plants growing in the contaminated area.…”

Analysis of arsenic induced physiological and biochemical responses in a medicinal plant, Withania somnifera

“…Arsenic (As) is a ubiquitously distributed and an extremely toxic metalloid that has come into limelight as a consequence of demonstration of its accumulation in groundwater and in a number of edible (rice in particular) and medicinal plants (Chakraborti et al 2002;Tripathi et al 2007;Saper et al 2008;Dwivedi et al 2010;Srivastava et al 2014). Arsenic bioavailability and toxicity to plants are strongly dependent on its chemical form.…”

Over-Expression of Arabidopsis Phytochelatin Synthase (Atpcs1) Gene in Escherichia Coli Confers Enhanced Tolerance to Cadmium

“…Dried cells were digested in HNO 3 (70 %)/HClO 4 (30 %) and mineralization was carried out in a microwave oven as described by Dwivedi et al (2010). The level of metal was quantified using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (Agilent 7500 cx).…”