Recent Developments in Rice Molecular Breeding for Tolerance to Heavy Metal Toxicity

Zulqarnain Haider, Irshan Ahmad, Samta Zia and Yinbo Gan ()
Additional contact information
Zulqarnain Haider: Department of Crop Genetics and Breeding, College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
Irshan Ahmad: Department of Crop Genetics and Breeding, College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
Samta Zia: College of Plant Science and Technology, Huazhong Agriculture University, Wuhan 430070, China
Yinbo Gan: Department of Crop Genetics and Breeding, College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China

Agriculture, 2023, vol. 13, issue 5, 1-18

Abstract: Heavy metal toxicity generally refers to the negative impact on the environment, humans, and other living organisms caused by exposure to heavy metals (HMs). Heavy metal poisoning is the accumulation of HMs in the soft tissues of organisms in a toxic amount. HMs bind to certain cells and prevent organs from functioning. Symptoms of HM poisoning can be life-threatening and not only cause irreversible damage to humans and other organisms; but also significantly reduce agricultural yield. Symptoms and physical examination findings associated with HM poisoning vary depending on the metal accumulated. Many HMs, such as zinc, copper, chromium, iron, and manganese, are present at extremely low levels but are essential for the functioning of plants. However, if these metals accumulate in the plants in sufficient concentrations to cause poisoning, serious damage can occur. Rice is consumed around the world as a staple food and incidents of HM pollution often occur in rice-growing areas. In many rice-producing countries, cadmium (Cd), arsenic (As), and lead (Pb) have been recognized as commonly widespread HMs contaminating rice fields worldwide. In addition to mining and irrigation activities, the use of fertilizers and pesticides has also contributed significantly to HM contamination of rice-growing soils around the world. A number of QTLs associated with HM stress signals from various intermediary molecules have been reported to activate various transcription factors (TFs). Some antioxidant enzymes have been studied which contribute to the scavenging of reactive oxygen species, ultimately leading to stress tolerance in rice. Genome engineering and advanced editing techniques have been successfully applied to rice to improve metal tolerance and reduce HM accumulation in grains. In this review article, recent developments and progress in the molecular science for the induction of HM stress tolerance, including reduced metal uptake, compartmentalized transportation, gene-regulated signaling, and reduced accumulation or diversion of HM particles to plant parts other than grains, are discussed in detail, with particular emphasis on rice.

Keywords: rice; heavy metals; stress tolerance; molecular breeding (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/13/5/944/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/13/5/944/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jagris:v:13:y:2023:i:5:p:944-:d:1132376

Access Statistics for this article

Agriculture is currently edited by Ms. Leda Xuan

More articles in Agriculture from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().