The IX European Bioremediation Conference (IX-EBC) will take place from June 15 to 19, 2025, in Crete, Greece. The MOBILES team will be represented by Raffaele Dello Ioio from Sapienza University in Rome who will give a talk on preliminary findings regarding the adaptability of plant species to arsenic pollution and the application of this knowledge in soil remediation strategies.
Arsenic (As) is a highly toxic and carcinogenic element that contaminates water and soil in many regions around the world, putting over 140 million people at risk of exposure to concentrations exceeding safe limits. Some plant species, known as As-accumulator plants, naturally absorb arsenic from contaminated soil. Most of these plants achieve this by limiting arsenic uptake through reduced root growth, in an effort to avoid toxicity. However, this self-protective mechanism makes them inefficient for large-scale environmental cleanup, known as phytoremediation.
In a recent study using Arabidopsis thaliana as a model, researchers explored how arsenic disrupts root development which is a key factor in arsenic uptake. They found that arsenic inhibits root growth by reducing the number of actively dividing cells in the root meristem, the growth zone located at the root tip. Arsenic also accelerates the transition of these cells into elongation and differentiation stages, a process regulated by the gene EXPA1, which is activated by plasma membrane H⁺-ATPase proteins (AHA1 and AHA2).
Genetic manipulation revealed that plants lacking EXPA1 or the AHA proteins developed longer roots and maintained more meristematic cells, even under arsenic stress. Interestingly, while overexpression of AHA1 improved arsenic uptake by lowering soil pH, these plants exhibited abnormal root growth. However, combining AHA1 overexpression with an EXPA1 mutation restored normal root development while maintaining arsenic absorption capacity.
These preliminary findings suggest that a dual genetic modification—overexpressing AHA1 while disabling EXPA1—could produce plants that are both arsenic-tolerant and efficient at arsenic uptake. Such engineered plants could serve as powerful tools for cleaning contaminated environments or as biosensors for arsenic detection.
Learn more at EBC -IX 2025.
Presentation: Arsenic Accumulation and Distribution in Pteris vittata Plantlets and Dynamics of Arsenic-Related Gene Expression (ID 123)
Date: Tuesday, June 17, 2025
Time: 15:00–17:00 (SESSION-5 – 5B: Molecular Biology Applications – ROOM A)
Location: MINOAN PALACE Hotel, Platanias, Crete
