Study of arsenic metabolism in vitro by fungus from the rice´s rizosphere (Oryza sativa L.) and application for the study of plant behavior during cultivation

• Grant number: 12/03746-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: August 01, 2012
• End date: July 31, 2013
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Pharmacy - Toxicological Analysis
• Principal Investigator: Fernando Barbosa Júnior
• Grantee: Bruno Lemos Batista
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas de Ribeirão Preto (FCFRP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Ribeirão Preto , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Arsenic (As) is considered the second most toxic xenobiotic by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR-USA). Among the chemical species present in nature, the inorganics species (As5+ and As3+) are the most toxic to humans and the methylated forms are less toxic (mono and dimethyl arsenic and arsenobetaine). When present in soil this toxic element can be absorbed by the roots of rice, reaching the grains. This cereal is an important food for Brazilians and almost the half the world population. Therefore, an important route of exposure to As. This plant has a special mechanism that contributes to As absorption by the roots, especially As3+ when grown in irrigated soil. It is known that the As average concentration in the rice consumed in Brazil is >222 ng g-1 and, depending on the location of cultivation, concentrations >300 ng g-1, maximum allowed in the grain, according to the last consultation of the National Agency of Sanitary Surveillance (ANVISA). The most important producers states in Brazil, Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina, use the irrigated crop type. Studies with fungi have been developed in order to reduce the absorption by the rice plant by exploiting the ability of these microorganisms bio-absorb, metabolize and/or bio-accumulate As. This project aims to isolate fungi in soils used for intensive and prolonged cultivation of rice (Oryza sativa L.), to evaluate the resistance to As and its uptake ability as in vitro metabolism activity and, finally, to apply in plant cultivation. By using experimental planting method in pots which simulate irrigated paddy soils, is expected to develop a method for rice cultivation differentiated using fungi naturally present in these soils, to reduce the absorption of rice, and thus contributing to the reduction of population exposure to As through the rice consumption.

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

BORGES, ENDLER MARCEL; LAFAYETTE NEVES GELINSKI, JANE MARY; DE OLIVEIRA SOUZA, VANESSA CRISTINA; BARBOSA, JR., FERNANDO; BATISTA, BRUNO LEMOS. Monitoring the authenticity of organic rice via chemometric analysis of elemental data. Food Research International, v. 77, n. 3, p. 299-309, NOV 2015. (12/03465-1, 12/03746-0, 12/22663-9, 10/07566-1)

BORGES, ENDLER MARCEL; LAFAYETTE NEVES GELINSKI, JANE MARY; DE OLIVEIRA SOUZA, VANESSA CRISTINA; BARBOSA, FERNANDO, JR.; BATISTA, BRUNO LEMOS. Monitoring the authenticity of organic rice via chemometric analysis of elemental data. Food Research International, v. 77, p. 11-pg., 2015-11-01. (10/07566-1, 12/03746-0, 12/03465-1, 12/22663-9)