Effects of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi on the reduction of arsenic accumulation in plants: A quantitative review using meta-analysis

Authors: HAO, SHANGYAN - Southwest University; TIAN, YE - Southwest University; LIN, ZHIQING - Southern Illinois University; XIE, LINZHI - Southwest University; ZHOU, XINBIN - Southwest University; Banuelos, Gary

Submitted to: Frontiers in Plant Science
Publication Type: Review Article
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/20/2023
Publication Date: 4/5/2024
Citation: Hao, S., Tian, Y., Lin, Z., Xie, L., Zhou, X., Banuelos, G.S. 2024. Effects of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi on the reduction of arsenic accumulation in plants: A quantitative review using meta-analysis. Frontiers in Plant Science. 15. Article 1327649. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2024.1327649.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2024.1327649

Interpretive Summary: Arsenic (As) contamination in agricultural soils is a common environmental issue that poses remarkable risks to human health and ecosystem sustainability. Arsenic uptake by plants and its subsequent translocation to edible parts of plants can result in potential health risks throughout the food chain. Recently, several research studies have reported that soil microorganisms like arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) can inhibit the absorption, translocation, and accumulation of As in plants. However, there are significant data inconsistencies on the effects of AMF on the plant accumulation of As. To acquire a clearer understanding on the interaction between AMF and As content in plants, a comprehensive meta-analysis was performed on published results about the relationship between AMF and As content in plants under various environmental and biological conditions. Results from the analysis showed that reported data revealed that AMF treatment significantly decreased As(V) concentration in plants. The analysis indicated that field experiments are necessary to optimize AMF application in As remediation strategies, considering factors such as specific crop-AMF interaction, AMF inoculation technique, physical and chemical properties of soil, agricultural practices and long-term effects of AMF on As dynamics in different environments. Importantly, further research is needed to understand the mechanisms by which AMF improves the As tolerance of plant.

Technical Abstract: Arsenic (As) accumulation in plants is a global concern. Application of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) has been suggested as a potential strategy to decrease As concentrations in plants, but published results on this topic are contradictory. To acquire a better overview on the uptake of As by plants, a meta-analysis was performed to quantitatively investigate the findings of 70 publications and 1304 data points on the impacts of AMF, soil type, and plant properties, on As accumulation in plants. The results of the meta-analyses performed on the entire dataset demonstrated significant and dose-dependent effects of AMF inoculation on decreasing As concentration in plants, especially in Leguminosae species, and grains by 19.1% and 32.8% respectively. The most significant effects of AMF on As accumulation were observed in a single inoculation with R. intraradices in experiments with intermediate duration. Additionally, the benefits of AMF were significantly enhanced when soil texture, soil organic carbon (SOC), pH level, Olsen-P and DTPA-As were sandy soil, 0.8-1.5%, =7.5, =9.1 mg/kg and 30-60 mg/kg, respectively. Although there is a shortage of data on long-term experiments, the meta-analysis clearly shows that published data indicates utilizing AMF-based inoculation methods can mitigate negative As (V) stress on plants. More studies and data are required to enhance our understanding of the mechanisms, metabolic pathways or signaling molecules, activated by AMF in plants exposed to As.