Negative Impacts of Arsenic on Plants and Mitigation Strategies (original) (raw)
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EFFECTS OF ARSENIC AND THEIR MITIGATION IN PLANTS.
International Journal of Advanced Research (IJAR), 2018
Arsenic is a metalloid - a natural element that is not actually a metal but which has both the properties of a metal and a non metal. It is a natural component of the Earth?s crust, generally found in trace quantities in all rock, soil, water and air. However, concentrations may be higher in certain areas due to either natural conditions or human activities. Soil contaminants?organic like petroleum, hydro-carbon, fertilizer, pesticide, copper, nickel cobalt zinc , Inorganic like arsenic cadmium, mercury, lead,Arsenic (As) is posing a serious health concern in West Bengal in India. Long term Arsenic exposure leads to skin lesions and various types of cancers. Safe level of As in drinking water is10 μg l-1, as recommended by World Health Organization in 1993, while the level of As in ground water has been reported up to 3200 μg l-1 in West Bengal. The total daily intake should not exceed 2 mg of inorganic arsenic per kilogram of body weight .Arsenic is non-essential element for plant and present in environment both in inorganic as well as organic forms. Arsenate (AsV) and arsenite (AsIII) are predominant inorganic forms. As toxicity symptoms in plants range from inhibition of root growth, photosynthesis to death of plant Arsenate shows structural analogy with phosphate so it is mainly transported through high affinity phosphate transporters
Consequences of arsenic exposure in Plant-health status: an overview
IntechOpen eBooks, 2023
Arsenic is the biggest threat to all living organisms across the world. It is typically present in very minute amounts in rock, soil, air, and water, but these levels are rising as a result of both natural and man-made activity. Exposure to arsenic increases the risk of developing liver, lung, kidney, and bladder malignancies as well as vascular illnesses such as stroke, ischemic heart disease, and peripheral vascular disease. Arsenic generates oxidative stress, which disrupts the redox balance. In fact, in plants arsenic gets accumulated in different parts of plants upon exposure to either contaminated soil or water, causing hazardous effects on the plant. Therefore, this chapter is aimed to understand the effect of arsenic exposure on the growth and development of the plant as a whole.
Mechanisms of Arsenic Toxicity and Tolerance in Plants
2018
Human activities have changed the global cycle of heavy metals and contributed a lot in heavy metal and metalloid toxicity. The human body is prone to serious harmful effects due to toxic substances like heavy metals and metalloids that are present or released into the environment. Arsenic (As) is found in nature and can enter the human body through a number of pathways including food, water, air, and soil. It also forms an important component of the occupational hazardous agents. The earth crust is the abundant source of As. The main form in which it is present in the earth is arsenopyrite. Human activities contribute nearly 52,000–112,000 tons of As to the soil (Li et al. 2008). The contributing factors include the use of As-rich pesticides and fertilizers in the agricultural sector. As enters the human body directly (through drinking As-contaminated water) or indirectly by consumption of As-contaminated food sources, for instance, the rice grain grown in As-contaminated groundwater and soil. The metalloid alters the physicochemical properties of soil and enters the farming systems through various means like geochemical processes. It, thereafter, elicits a series of reactions leading to inhibition of plant growth. Consequently, the photosynthetic and metabolic processes are disrupted resulting in a decrease in the agricultural output. These plant responses are mainly mediated by the oxidative stress within the plant body. The reactive oxygen species (ROS) produced during the As toxicity cause damage to biological molecules including proteins and lipids. Interaction of arsenic III sulfhydryl groups with the plant enzymes ultimately results in the death of the plants. The adverse effects of As toxicity are not limited to plant body only. In humans, exposure to As causes DNA hypomethylation resulting in carcinogenesis. It also causes activation of proto-oncogene c-myc that can induce chromosome abnormalities by acting synergistically with other toxic substances. Inorganic As also causes skin and lung cancer in a human. A number of other pathological and pathophysiological conditions are also reported. South Asia is the most populous region in the world. The total population of India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan accounts for nearly a quarter of the world’s population. This region is geographically the most diverse region as well. A number of recent cases of As toxicity have been reported in South Asia. The high density of population, poverty, unavailability of As-treated water, adverse socioeconomic conditions, monetary dependence on agriculture, and a number of other factors make the people of this region at the highest risk of As-induced adverse effects (Brammer and Ravenscroft 2009). The chapter introduces the concept of As toxicity followed by its geographical distribution in South Asia. The adverse effects of As toxicity in plants and humans are then presented. Various molecular mechanisms that are disturbed and the manipulation of which can help in addressing As toxicity are then presented. Toward the end of the chapter, various biological, physical, and chemical methods for addressing the As toxicity that can be beneficial for reducing As toxicity in the affected areas have been presented.
International journal of environmental research and public health, 2018
Environmental contamination with arsenic (As) is a global environmental, agricultural and health issue due to the highly toxic and carcinogenic nature of As. Exposure of plants to As, even at very low concentration, can cause many morphological, physiological, and biochemical changes. The recent research on As in the soil-plant system indicates that As toxicity to plants varies with its speciation in plants (e.g., arsenite, As(III); arsenate, As(V)), with the type of plant species, and with other soil factors controlling As accumulation in plants. Various plant species have different mechanisms of As(III) or As(V) uptake, toxicity, and detoxification. This review briefly describes the sources and global extent of As contamination and As speciation in soil. We discuss different mechanisms responsible for As(III) and As(V) uptake, toxicity, and detoxification in plants, at physiological, biochemical, and molecular levels. This review highlights the importance of the As-induced generat...
Plants as Useful Vectors to Reduce Environmental Toxic Arsenic Content
The Scientific World Journal, 2014
Arsenic (As) toxicity in soil and water is an increasing menace around the globe. Its concentration both in soil and environment is due to natural and anthropogenic activities. Rising arsenic concentrations in groundwater is alarming due to the health risks to plants, animals, and human beings. Anthropogenic As contamination of soil may result from mining, milling, and smelting of copper, lead, zinc sulfide ores, hide tanning waste, dyes, chemical weapons, electroplating, gas exhaust, application of municipal sludge on land, combustion of fossil fuels, As additives to livestock feed, coal fly ash, and use of arsenical pesticides in agricultural sector. Phytoremediation can be viewed as biological, solar-driven, pump-and-treat system with an extensive, self-extending uptake network (the root system) that enhances the natural ecosystems for subsequent productive use. The present review presents recent scientific developments regarding phytoremediation of arsenic contaminated environme...
Plants against the global epidemic of arsenic poisoning
Environment International, 2004
Due to the growing current trend around the world of drinking water from underground sources, in an attempt to replace heavily polluted surface water supplies, arsenic is causing a global epidemic of poisoning with hundreds of millions of people now being thought at serious risk in many countries. Phytoremediation (bioremediation mediated by plants) has been proposed as an effective tool in arsenic cleanup. Actually, some plants (most notably, the Chinese brake fern Pteris vittata) have been reported to be suitable for arsenic phytoremediation. In this respect, transgenic plants are being developed to improve their capacity to accumulate arsenic. Most interestingly, rhizofiltration (use of plants to absorb or adsorb pollutants from water) is being considered for the ex situ and in situ remediation of arsenic -contaminated water. Similarly, some plants show great potential to remove arsenic from polluted soil. D
Arsenic hazards: strategies for tolerance and remediation by plants
Trends in Biotechnology, 2007
Arsenic toxicity has become a global concern owing to the ever-increasing contamination of water, soil and crops in many regions of the world. To limit the detrimental impact of arsenic compounds, efficient strategies such as phytoremediation are required. Suitable plants include arsenic hyperaccumulating ferns and aquatic plants that are capable of completing their life cycle in the presence of high levels of arsenic through the concerted action of arsenate reduction to arsenite, arsenite complexation, and vacuolar compartmentalization of complexed or inorganic arsenic. Tolerance can also be conferred by lowering arsenic uptake by suppression of phosphate transport activity, a major pathway for arsenate entry. In many unicellular organisms, arsenic tolerance is based on the active removal of cytosolic arsenite while limiting the uptake of arsenate. Recent molecular studies have revealed many of the gene products involved in these processes, providing the tools to improve crop species and to optimize phytoremediation; however, so far only single genes have been manipulated, which has limited progress. We will discuss recent advances and their potential applications, particularly in the context of multigenic engineering approaches.
Plants
Arsenic contamination in water and soil is becoming a severe problem. It is toxic to the environment and human health. It is usually found in small quantities in rock, soil, air, and water which increase due to natural and anthropogenic activities. Arsenic exposure leads to several diseases such as vascular disease, including stroke, ischemic heart disease, and peripheral vascular disease, and also increases the risk of liver, lungs, kidneys, and bladder tumors. Arsenic leads to oxidative stress that causes an imbalance in the redox system. Mycoremediation approaches can potentially reduce the As level near the contaminated sites and are procuring popularity as being eco-friendly and cost-effective. Many fungi have specific metal-binding metallothionein proteins, which are used for immobilizing the As concentration from the soil, thereby removing the accumulated As in crops. Some fungi also have other mechanisms to reduce the As contamination, such as biosynthesis of glutathione, ce...