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Promising co-inoculation strategies to reduce arsenic toxicity in soybean

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Abstract

Arsenic (As) is the cause for concern worldwide due to its high toxicity. Its presence in agricultural soils and groundwater adversely affects soybean (Glycine max L.) growth and yield and also endangers food safety. Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) could be used as part of cost-effective and eco-friendly strategies to mitigate As phytotoxicity. However, simple inoculation of soybean with PGPR Bradyrhizobium japonicum E109 (E109), a common practice in Argentina, is not effective in counteracting the effects of As exposure. Our aim was to assess whether the response of soybean to arsenate (AsV) and arsenite (AsIII) could be helpfully modulated by co-inoculating E109 with the free-living PGPRs Azospirillum brasilense Cd (Cd) or Bacillus pumilus SF5 (SF5). Co-inoculation with E109 + SF5 alleviated As-induced depletion of chlorophyll a and b, and carotenoid content, reaching an increase of 26, 28 y 31%, respectively. It also enhanced nodulation (15–19%) under As exposure. E109 + Cd and E109 + SF5 induced changes in the antioxidant system, which could be related to the maintenance of redox homeostasis. Moreover, As accumulation was reduced by 53% in aerial parts of plants inoculated with E109 + Cd, and by 16% in the roots of those inoculated with E109 + SF5. The strains selected show interesting potential for the development of biotechnological schemes to improve soybean yield while guaranteeing safer food production.

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Data Availability

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

The authors wish to express their gratitude to Dr. Sergio Alemano (Departamento de Ciencias Naturales, FCEFQyN, Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto, INIAB-CONICET) for providing the Bacillus pumilus SF5 strain.

Funding

This research was financially supported by Fondo para la Investigación Científica y Tecnológica (FONCYT) (grant PICT 2143/17) and by Secretaría de Ciencia y Técnica-Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto (SeCyT-UNRC).

MEV holds a post-doctoral grant from Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET). RPP holds a doctoral grant from FONCyT. ALWO, EA, and MAT are members of the Research Career of CONICET.

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  1. Departamento de Biología Molecular, FCEFQyN, Instituto de Biotecnología Ambiental Y Salud, INBIAS-CONICET, Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto (UNRC), Ruta Nacional 36 Km 601, 5800, Río Cuarto, Córdoba, CP, Argentina

    Mariana Elisa Vezza, Romina del Pilar Pramparo, Ana Laura Wevar Oller, Elizabeth Agostini & Melina Andrea Talano

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  1. Mariana Elisa Vezza
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  2. Romina del Pilar Pramparo
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  3. Ana Laura Wevar Oller
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  4. Elizabeth Agostini
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  5. Melina Andrea Talano
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MEV, EA, and MAT: research design. MEV: methodology, investigation, writing – original draft. RPP: data collection. ALWO: writing – review and editing. EA and MAT: funding acquisition, supervision, writing – review and editing.

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Correspondence to Elizabeth Agostini.

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Vezza, M.E., Pramparo, R.d.P., Wevar Oller, A.L. et al. Promising co-inoculation strategies to reduce arsenic toxicity in soybean. Environ Sci Pollut Res 29, 88066–88077 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-21443-z

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