Effect of external and internal phosphate status on arsenic toxicity and accumulation in rice seedlings

Phosphorus （P） deficiency is thought to exacerbate the arsenic （As） phytotoxicity in paddy rice. The experiments were conducted to investigate the effects of external phosphate supply on As accumulation in rice and its toxicity under phosphate deficiency conditions. Rice seedlings pretreated with a phosphorus deficient nutrient solution （-P） for 14 d accumulated more As than those pretreated with a normal phosphorus supply nutrient solution （＋P）. Rice protreated with -P showed As toxicity symptoms after being exposed to 50 μmol/L arsenate for 4 h, while ＋P rice did not show any toxicity symptoms. Arsenic toxicity symptoms can be alleviated by increasing external P concentrations. The arsenate uptake rate and accumulation corresponded with the As toxicity in rice plants. Arsenic concentrations in rice roots decreased with increasing external phosphate concentrations. The lowest As accumulation and the highest P accumulation were found when the external P concentration reached 100μmol/L. In short, P deficiency increased the sensitivity of rice to arsenate and increasing of external phosphate supply could alleviate As toxicity.

Arsenic speciation for the phytoremediation by the Chinese brake fern,Pteris vittata

Arsenic(As)speciation for the phytoremediation by the Chinese brake fern was studied.In particular,the mechanism of how plants induce compounds containing thiol(SH)and proteins by As exposure in terms of the relationship between As and phosphate uptaken into plant cells was examined.Pteris vittata callus could effciently reduce As(V)to As(III)by the rapid introduction of reductase and synthesize thiols leading to phytochelatins production.Furthermore,Pteris vittata could control phosphate concentration in t...

Effect of Silicon on Arsenic Concentration and Speciation in Different Rice Tissues

Rice is a major source of inorganic arsenic(As) exposure for billions of people worldwide. Therefore, strategies to reduce As accumulation in rice should be adopted. Silicon(Si) application can effectively mitigate As accumulation in rice. In this study, a pot experiment was performed to investigate the effect of Si on As speciation and distribution in different rice tissues. The results showed that Si addition significantly increased As and Si concentrations in soil solution and Si concentration in iron plaque formed around rice root surface, whereas As in the iron plaque was significantly decreased. Total As concentrations in the stem, leaf, husk, and brown rice were remarkably decreased by 51.9%, 31.9%, 33.8%, and 24.1%, respectively, after Si addition, and inorganic As concentrations were reduced by 52.3%, 35.5%, 50.1%, and 20.1%, respectively. Moreover, both dimethylarsinic acid concentration and percentage in rice grain were significantly elevated by Si application. Therefore, Si application is promising as a way to mitigate inorganic As accumulation in rice and to reduce consumer health risk.