Arsenic hazards: strategies for tolerance and remediation by plants

• Published in: Trends in biotechnology (Regular ed.) Vol. 25; no. 4; pp. 158 - 165
• Main Authors: Tripathi, Rudra D, Srivastava, Sudhakar, Mishra, Seema, Singh, Nandita, Tuli, Rakesh, Gupta, Dharmendra K, Maathuis, Frans J.M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Elsevier Ltd 01-04-2007; Elsevier Science; Elsevier Limited
• Subjects: Aquatic plants; Arsenic; Arsenic - isolation & purification; Arsenic - pharmacokinetics; bioaccumulation; Biodegradation, Environmental; Biological and medical sciences; Biotechnology; chelation; Crops; Drug Tolerance - physiology; E coli; Ferns; Food contamination & poisoning; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Genetic Enhancement - methods; Heavy metal content; hyperaccumulators; Industrial Waste - prevention & control; Internal Medicine; literature reviews; metabolism; metal tolerance; Phytoremediation; plants; Plants - genetics; Plants - metabolism; Plants, Genetically Modified - metabolism; Pollution tolerance; reduction; Rice; Soil Pollutants - pharmacokinetics; soil pollution; Studies; translocation (plant physiology); Water Pollutants, Chemical - pharmacokinetics; Water pollution; Wheat; India; Tolerance; Transgenic plant; Review; Arsenic; Metabolism; Phytoremediation
• ISSN: 0167-7799; 1879-3096
• DOI: 10.1016/j.tibtech.2007.02.003

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.