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Microbe mobilizes arsenic shield for rice
Plant and soil scientists at the University of Delaware (UD) have discovered a soil microbe that mobilizes an "iron shield" to block the uptake of toxic arsenic in rice. In this scanning electron microscope image, clumps of bacteria (soil microbe EA106) and iron plaque begin forming on the roots of a rice plant.
Arsenic occurs naturally in rocks and soils, air and water, plants and animals. Its used in a variety of industrial products and practices, from wood preservatives, pesticides and fertilizers, to copper smelting. Chronic exposure to arsenic has been linked to cancer, heart disease and diabetes.
The UD finding gives hope that a natural, low-cost solution--a probiotic for rice plants--may be in sight to protect this global food source from accumulating harmful levels of one of the deadliest poisons on Earth. Rice currently is a staple in the diet of more than half the worlds population.
This research was supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation (award IOS 09-23806).
To learn more about this research, see the NSF News From the Field story Microbe mobilizes 'iron shield' to block arsenic uptake in rice. (Date of Image: 2015)
Credit: University of Delaware; image by Venkatachalam Lakshmanan and Deepak Shantharaj, taken with the scanning electron microscope at the University of Delaware Bioimaging Center
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