Arsenic in Rice in a Nutshell: Tell-Tale Toxic Interplay of Chemical Offense and Biochemical Defense

Abstract

Arsenic (As) contamination of the environment and crop plants is an issue of global concern. Public and environmental health is threatened by the excess of As in soil, water, and air and crop produce like rice grains. Rice is one of the major grains consumed by people around the world and rice grains have been demonstrated to accumulate As in high amounts in numerous studies. The problem of As accumulation in rice has gained huge attention among researchers. A lot of research on understanding the uptake and transport mechanisms of As in rice plants and on delineating the mechanism of As toxicity in plants has been conducted. The knowledge about As transporters, regulators of gene expressions, enzymes, and metabolites involved, and anatomical and morphological changes is now available. The vast knowledge is summarized in the present chapter 2to provide up-to-date information about the problem of As in rice, the journey of As from roots to grains, and the mechanism of As toxicity in rice plants. © 2024 by Apple Academic Press, Inc.