Growth-inhibition patterns and transfer-factor profiles in arsenic-stressed rice (Oryza sativa L.)

Abstract

Arsenic (As) accumulation in rice owing to uptake from the soil is a critical human health issue. Here, we studied the chemical properties of As-treated soils, growth inhibition patterns of As-stressed rice plants, changes in the As content of soil and soil solutions, and the relationship between As accumulation and As transfer factor from the soil to the rice organs. Rice plants were cultivated in a greenhouse under four concentrations of As: 0 (control), 25, 50, and 75 mg kg−1. A significant positive correlation was found between available P2O5 and exchangeable K and between As concentration and available P2O5 or exchangeable K. The As concentration for 50% shoot growth inhibition was 50 mg kg−1. As levels in roots and shoots were positively correlated with the growth stages of rice. The transfer factor (TF)root/soil increased with As concentration at the tillering stage but decreased at the heading stage. TFroot/soil and TFshoot/soil were higher at the heading stage than at the tillering stage. As accumulation in the 25 mg kg−1 treatment was higher during the heading stage, whereas no difference was found at the tillering stage. As accumulation was related to plant biomass and soil As concentration. We found that As accumulation was greater at As concentrations that allowed for plant growth and development. Thus, species-specific threshold concentrations must be determined based on As phytotoxicity for the phytoremediation of As-contaminated soils. Hence, developing practical approaches for managing safe crop production in farmlands with an As contamination of 25 mg kg−1 or less is necessary.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1007/s10661-017-6350-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles Application Alleviates Arsenic (As) Toxicity in Soybean Plants by Restricting the Uptake of as and Modulating Key Biochemical Attributes, Antioxidant Enzymes, Ascorbate-Glutathione Cycle and Glyoxalase System

“…Arsenic toxicity affected the growth of soybean plants in terms of shoot length and shoot and root fresh and dry weights. These results endorse the findings of Jung, et al [21] in As-stressed rice seedlings. Abedin, et al [22] have also demonstrated decreased growth in rice due to As toxicity.…”

Exogenous Glutathione Increases Arsenic Translocation Into Shoots and Alleviates Arsenic-Induced Oxidative Stress by Sustaining Ascorbate–Glutathione Homeostasis in Rice Seedlings

“…The pollution of agricultural soils and waters by As contamination has led to serious environmental problems in the productivity of crop plants. As toxicity affects photosynthesis by reducing the chlorophyll content, which negatively influences general plant growth and important metabolic processes, and by inhibiting adenosine triphosphate (ATP) biosynthesis by disrupting phosphorus uptake in the roots (Panda et al, 2010; Finnegan and Chen, 2012; Gupta and Ahmad, 2014; Jung et al, 2017b). Recently, some studies have demonstrated that the exogenous application of hydrogen sulfide (Singh et al, 2015b; Li et al, 2016; Chen et al, 2017), sulfur (Khan et al, 2015; Jung et al, 2017a; Tian et al, 2017), AsA (Jung et al, 2018; Semida et al, 2018), or GSH (Shri et al, 2009; Chen et al, 2010; Mostofa et al, 2014; Kim et al, 2017) may alleviate different heavy metal stresses.…”

“…In contrast, the shoot As content of plants treated with both As and GSH was significantly higher than that of plants treated with As alone ( Figure 1A ). Studies have reported that As uptake and translocation differ by plant species and tissues (Ye et al, 2012; Gupta and Ahmad, 2014; Chen et al, 2015; Jung et al, 2017b). The results of this study revealed that GSH application mitigates the overall phytotoxicity of As by decreasing the content of As within the roots but increasing its translocation to the shoots ( Figure 1 ).…”

“…Social and industrial activities, such as mining and smelting, have resulted in aggressive expansion of As-contaminated regions, including paddy soils. Because contamination of rice by As might cause serious health risks to the end consumer in the long term, it is a matter of considerable importance (Xie and Huang, 1998; Roychowdhury et al, 2002; Williams et al, 2005; Jung et al, 2017b).…”

“…Rice ( Oryza sativa L.) is one of the most important agricultural crops worldwide, including in South Korea, and several studies have evaluated its ability of As uptake from soil (Akinbile and Haque, 2012; Kim et al, 2016; Jung et al, 2017b). However, information on the relationship between GSH and antioxidant scavenging systems in rice plants is still unclear, especially with regard to As phytotoxicity.…”