Effect of external and internal phosphate status on arsenic toxicity and accumulation in rice seedlings

Phosphorus (P) deficiency is thought to exacerbate the arsenic (As) phytotoxicity in paddy rice. The experiments were conducted to investigate the effects of external phosphate supply on As accumulation in rice and its toxicity under phosphate deficiency conditions. Rice seedlings pretreated with a phosphorus deficient nutrient solution (-P) for 14 d accumulated more As than those pretreated with a normal phosphorus supply nutrient solution (+P). Rice protreated with -P showed As toxicity symptoms after being exposed to 50 micromol/L arsenate for 4 h, while +P rice did not show any toxicity symptoms. Arsenic toxicity symptoms can be alleviated by increasing external P concentrations. The arsenate uptake rate and accumulation corresponded with the As toxicity in rice plants. Arsenic concentrations in rice roots decreased with increasing external phosphate concentrations. The lowest As accumulation and the highest P accumulation were found when the external P concentration reached 100 micromol/L. In short, P deficiency increased the sensitivity of rice to arsenate and increasing of external phosphate supply could alleviate As toxicity.