How Arsenic Builds Up in Plant Seeds Discovered

Researchers from Florida International University (FIU) are part of an international team of scientists that has discovered how arsenic builds up in the seeds of plants similar to rice.

Professor Barry P. Rosen's team at FIU discovered that Arabidopsis thaliana uses transport systems for inositol, a type of sugar, to load arsenite, the toxic form of arsenic, into seeds. This is the first identification of transporters responsible for arsenic accumulation in seeds. Rosen predicts that the same pathway could be present in rice grains and these discoveries will enable the development of new rice cultivars with less arsenic in the grain.

Arsenic, both a toxin and a carcinogen, comes from minerals and is used in some herbicides, animal growth promoters, and semiconductors. It is a pervasive environmental contaminant of food and water that threatens the health of tens of millions people worldwide.

For more details, read the FIU news release.