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Review
. 2021 Sep 15;10(9):1926.
doi: 10.3390/plants10091926.

The Road to Practical Application of Cadmium Phytoremediation Using Rice

Ryuichi Takahashi  1 , Masashi Ito  1 , Tomohiko Kawamoto  1
Affiliations
Review

The Road to Practical Application of Cadmium Phytoremediation Using Rice

Ryuichi Takahashi et al. Plants (Basel). .

Abstract

Cadmium (Cd) is a toxic heavy metal that causes severe health issues in humans. Cd accumulates in the human body when foods produced in Cd-contaminated fields are eaten. Therefore, soil remediation of contaminated fields is necessary to provide safe foods. Rice is one of the primary candidates for phytoremediation. There is a genotypic variation of Cd concentration in the shoots and grains of rice. Using the world rice core collection, 'Jarjan', 'Anjana Dhan', and 'Cho-ko-koku' were observed with a significantly higher level of Cd accumulation in the shoots and grains. Moreover, OsHMA3, a heavy metal transporter, was identified as a responsive gene of quantitative trait locus (QTL) for high Cd concentration in the shoots of these three varieties likewise. However, it is difficult to apply practical phytoremediation to these varieties because of their unfavorable agricultural traits, such as shatter and easily lodged. New rice varieties and lines were bred for Cd phytoremediation using OsHMA3 as a DNA marker selection. All of them accumulated Cd in the shoots equal to or higher than 'Cho-ko-koku' with improved cultivation traits. Therefore, they can be used for practical Cd phytoremediation.

Keywords: cadmium; paddy field; phytoremediation; quantitative trait locus (QTL); rice; transporter.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Proposed model for the role of OsHMA3 in Cd translocation from the roots to the shoots. The Cd is sequestered into the vacuole via OsHMA3 in normal varieties (A), whereas not in high Cd-accumulating varieties (B). The remaining Cd in the cytoplasm is loaded into the xylem.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The breeding goals for new rice varieties of Cd phytoremediation. Blue arrows and red arrows indicate morphological and physiological improvements, respectively.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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