Arsenic stress in Rice (Oryza sativa) and its amelioration approaches

Arsenic (As) contamination is a major environmental issue that leads to serious health risks for living organisms. Growth, development, metabolic system, and yield of crops are drastically diminished by exposure to As. Arsenic enters into the food chain through contaminated water, soil, and food. Rice is the major dietary source of food for almost 3 billion people of the world. It contains the highest concentration of As among all the crops due to the presence of phosphate transporters, aquaglyceroporins, and for the requirements of irrigation. The other factors which governed the presence of As in rice plants include pH of the soil, concentration, and availability of As, presence of different minerals in the soil, type of rice cultivar, etc. Various strategies to determine the feasible way to reduce uptake and accumulation of As in paddy plants are being studied by the researchers. Different agronomic measures to mitigate As stress in rice involve water management practices, supplementation of a crop field with mineral containing fertilizers, bioremediation, biotechnological, and nanotechnological approaches, etc. In this review study, the recent understanding of uptake, and translocation of As, its impact on rice plants, and various amelioration approaches to reduce As stress in rice have been encompassed.