Bio-priming with a Novel Plant Growth-Promoting Acinetobacter indicus Strain Alleviates Arsenic-Fluoride Co-toxicity in Rice by Modulating the Physiome and Micronutrient Homeostasis

Isolation and Characterization of Arsenic-Tolerable Bacteria from Groundwater and Their Implementation on Rice Seedling's Shoot and Root Enhancement

Arsenic exerts detrimental impacts on primary metabolism in plants, leading to reduced crop yield. Some arsenic-resistant plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB) help plants by providing some plant hormones to sustain their growth and development under arsenic stress. Here, seven different species of Bacillus were isolated from arsenic-contaminated groundwater of West Bengal, India. Those species were capable of growing in the presence of > 3.12 g/L arsenate (AsV) and > 0.65 g/L arsenite (AsIII) salts and also resist different heavy metals like Cu2+, Fe2+, Co2+, Zn2+, Pb2+, etc. They were susceptible to multiple groups of antibiotics like beta-lactam, aminoglycosides, etc. All species were capable of detoxifying arsenite and influenced rice seedlings' growth in the presence of arsenic salts by their capabilities like nitrogen-fixing ability, phosphate solubilization, indole 3-acetic acid (IAA), gibberellic acid (GA), proline production, etc. Most species helped enhance root and shoot lengths under arsenic stress. These primary findings suggest that those Bacillus spp. could be used as potential bio-fertilizers in arsenic-contaminated agricultural fields.

Conceptualization of the comprehensive phyto-radiotoxicity incurred by radiocesium and strategies to expunge the metal using biotechnological and phytoremediative approaches

Agricultural pollution with 137Cs is an ecological threat due to its sustained half-life and radioactivity. Release of radiocesium isotopes after major nuclear power plant accidents like the Fukushima Dai-ichi and the Chernobyl nuclear power plant disasters have severely affected the surrounding growth of agricultural crops and vegetables cultivated across extensive areas. Even years after the nuclear accidents, biosafety in these agricultural fields is still questionable. Due to similarity in charge and ionic radius between radiocesium and K+, the radionuclides are promiscuously uptaken via K+ channels expressed in plants. Bioaccumulation of radiocesium reportedly promotes physiological and anatomical anomalies in crops due to radiation and also affects the rhizospheric architecture. Due to radiation hazard, the ecological balance and quality are compromised and ingestion of such contaminated food results in irreversible health hazards. Recently, strategies like exogenous supplementation of K+ or genetic engineering of K+ channels were able to reduce radiocesium bioaccumulation in plants taking the advantage of competition between radiocesium and K+ translocation. Furthermore, bioremediation strategies like phycoremediation, mycoremediation, phytoremediation and rhizofiltration have also showed promising results for removing radiocesium from polluted sites. It has been proposed that these eco-friendly ways can be adopted to de-pollute the contaminated sites prior to subsequent cultivation of crops and vegetables. Hence it is essential to: 1) understand the basic radiotoxic effects of radiocesium on agricultural crops and surrounding vegetation and, 2) design sustainable ameliorative strategies to promote radiocesium tolerance for ensuring food and social security of the affected population.