Assessing the toxic effects of accumulated arsenic on Arabidopsis thaliana

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

Previous studies have reported that high pesticide and fertilizer use leads to a gradual accumulation of arsenic in soil environments. To understand the effects of arsenic on plant growth, we aimed to analyze the effect of As(III) on plant growth and development using Arabidopsis thaliana as a model plant.
The results revealed that various aspects of plant growth, including seed germination and shoot development, were negatively impacted by As(III) treatment, but the effects were not significant. By contrast, root development was strongly suppressed by As(III) exposure, and the extent of suppression was dependent on the concentration of As(III) used. To gain a deeper understanding of adverse effects on root development, we examined the correlation between As(III) exposure and auxin, a key phytohormone responsible for root growth. Visualizing the auxin response in Arabidopsis roots using DR5::VEUNS and IAA2::GFP revealed that As(III) treatment suppressed auxin response in Arabidopsis roots, and this suppression was tightly correlated with the As(III) concentration. Furthermore, we used As(III)-specific bacterial cell-based biosensors to quantify the accumulation of arsenic in plants and establish a correlation with physiological changes. The inhibition of root growth was observed at 0.5 mg/g of As(III) treatment and it was correlated to 0.063 mg of As(III) per 1 g of dried plant. Although further investigations are required to fully assess the toxic effects of arsenic on the physiological properties of plants, the findings presented in this study provide valuable insights for evaluating the toxic effects of accumulated arsenic on plant growth and development.