Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Heavy metal contamination in paddy fields poses serious risks to food safety and crop productivity. This study evaluated the potential of native soil fungi as bioinoculants to reduce metal uptake in rice cultivated under contaminated conditions. Eight fungal strains-four indigenous and four allochthonous-were selected based on their plant growth-promoting traits, including siderophore production and phosphate solubilization. Additional metabolic analysis confirmed the production of bioactive secondary metabolites. In a greenhouse experiment, three rice cultivars were grown under permanent flooding (PF) and alternate wetting and drying (AWD) in soil enriched with arsenic, cadmium, chromium, and copper. Inoculation with indigenous fungi under AWD significantly reduced the arsenic accumulation in rice shoots by up to 75%. While AWD increased cadmium uptake across all cultivars, fungal inoculation led to a moderate reduction in cadmium accumulation-ranging from 15% to 25%-in some varieties. These effects were not observed under PF conditions. The results demonstrate the potential of native fungi as a nature-based solution to mitigate heavy metal stress in rice cultivation, supporting both environmental remediation and sustainable agriculture.
Source: Microorganisms
Institutions: University of Genoa, University of Milan, Aalborg University
Language: English
Topic: Heavy metals in environment
Subfield: Pollution
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
SDGs: Zero hunger, Life on land
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,258
OpenAlex ID: W4412469217