Phytoremediation for Arsenic Contamination: Arsenate Reductase Phytoremediation for Arsenic Contamination: Arsenate Reductase

Arsenic is a toxic pollutant present in the environment that causes serious health issues. Phytoremediation is one potential solution to mitigate arsenic contamination in either soil or water. Two main forms of arsenic exist in the environment, arsenite, [As(III)], and arsenate, [As(V)]. In plant mechanisms, arsenate reductase reduces arsenate to arsenite with the help of thioredoxins or glutaredoxins, which serve as electron donors. Arsenite can be subsequently stored in the plant vacuole. In one study, an Arabidopsis thaliana transgenic plant was engineered to express bacterial arsenate reductase and glutamylcysteine synthase, which enhanced its ability to store two to three times more arsenic per gram of tissue than the non-transgenic plant. Further investigation of the mechanism of arsenic uptake in plants is needed to provide a foundation to develop better transgenic arsenic hyperaccumulators.