Japanese and Korean scientists study the accumulation of arsenic in Oryza
sativa (rice). Arsenic (As) is one of the compounds that can cause skin
lesions and cancer in humans and its toxicity can promote stunted growth in
rice plants. Thus the study of its accumulation in rice is necessary to find
a solution on how this compound can be reduced. In their study, the role of
OsABCC1, a C-type ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporter family in arsenic
accumulation in rice was investigated due to the report that it can reduce
and detoxify As in rice grains. It is abundant in different parts of the
rice and specifically located at the tonoplasts. Evaluation of its role is
studied by comparing the growth and development and arsenic accumulation in
rice between mutant rice, created by knocking out OsABCC1, and wild-type
rice under arsenic condition.

Result show that the mutant rice exhibit poor growth compared to wild type
rice indication of a decrease tolerance in As. A higher percent of As
distributed in different parts of wild-type rice, specifically in nodes, was
noted compared to mutant rice. In grains, lower As accumulation was observed
in wild-type rice by a total of 3.4 percent in comparison with mutant rice,
which has a total of 20 to 24 percent of As found in rice plant body. This
finding shows the potential use of OsABCC1 in creating As tolerant
genetically modified rice.

[www.pnas.org]
[www.pnas.org]