Arsenic Transport in Rice and Biological Solutions to Reduce Arsenic Risk from Rice

Yanshan Chen; Yong-He Han; Yue Cao; Yong-Guan Zhu; Bala Rathinasabapathi; Lena Q Ma

doi:10.3389/fpls.2017.00268

Arsenic Transport in Rice and Biological Solutions to Reduce Arsenic Risk from Rice

Front Plant Sci. 2017 Mar 1:8:268. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2017.00268. eCollection 2017.

Authors

Yanshan Chen¹, Yong-He Han¹, Yue Cao¹, Yong-Guan Zhu², Bala Rathinasabapathi³, Lena Q Ma⁴

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of the Environment, Nanjing University Nanjing, China.
² Key Laboratory of Urban Environment and Health, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences Xiamen, China.
³ Horticultural Sciences Department, University of Florida, Gainesville FL, USA.
⁴ State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of the Environment, Nanjing UniversityNanjing, China; Soil and Water Science Department, University of Florida, GainesvilleFL, USA.

Abstract

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) feeds ∼3 billion people. Due to the wide occurrence of arsenic (As) pollution in paddy soils and its efficient plant uptake, As in rice grains presents health risks. Genetic manipulation may offer an effective approach to reduce As accumulation in rice grains. The genetics of As uptake and metabolism have been elucidated and target genes have been identified for genetic engineering to reduce As accumulation in grains. Key processes controlling As in grains include As uptake, arsenite (AsIII) efflux, arsenate (AsV) reduction and AsIII sequestration, and As methylation and volatilization. Recent advances, including characterization of AsV uptake transporter OsPT8, AsV reductase OsHAC1;1 and OsHAC1;2, rice glutaredoxins, and rice ABC transporter OsABCC1, make many possibilities to develop low-arsenic rice.

Keywords: Oryza sativa; arsenate reduction; arsenic uptake; arsenite efflux; methylation; sequestration.

Publication types

Review