ABSTRACT
Arsenic (As) is a potent carcinogenic metalloid. Growing crops with As-contaminated groundwater is the major source of As contamination in crop plants. As toxicity causes oxidative damage in the plant cell that ultimately leads to low crop productivity. Its uptake and accumulation in plants also result in high As content in edible parts. The subsequent consumption of these As-contaminated crops by humans is one of the serious health hazards. In crop plants, significant research and progress have been done in the field of As uptake (from the soil), translocation, and its adaptation. Recent developments in the molecular biology approach to identify and functionally characterize the various As-responsive genes in As-sensitive and tolerant cultivars gave a new insight into plant adaptation. To demonstrate the mechanism of mitigation in crop plants under As toxicity, various gene-editing strategies such as high expressing, knocked-out, and knocked-down approaches as well as breeding approaches have been studied. In this chapter, we summarized the updated view of As sensitivity, molecular mode of adaptation, and mitigation strategy of field crops under As toxicity.
