Mechanisms of Arsenic Toxicity and Tolerance in Plants

Arsenic is likely the most talked-about metalloid in the modern world because of its toxic effects on both animal and plants. Further, arsenic pollution is now producing negative impacts on food security, especially in many south Asian countries. Since plants are a major food source, their adaptation to As-rich environments is essential, as is being informed about recent findings on multifarious aspects of the mechanisms of arsenic toxicity and tolerance in plants. Although numerous research works and review articles have been published in journals, annual reviews and as book chapters, to date there has been no comprehensive book on this topic.


This book contains 19 informative chapters on arsenic chemistry, plant uptake, toxicity and tolerance mechanisms, as well as approaches to mitigation. Readers will be introduced to the latest findings on plant responses to arsenic toxicity, various tolerance mechanisms, and remediation techniques. As such, thebook offers a timely and valuable resource for a broad audience, including plant scientists, soil scientists, environmental scientists, agronomists, botanists and molecular biologists.

Dr. Mirza Hasanuzzaman is Professor of Agronomy at Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University in Dhaka. He received his Ph.D. on ‘Plant Stress Physiology and Antioxidant Metabolism’ from Ehime University, Japan with a scholarship from the Japanese government. Later, he completed his postdoctoral research at the Center of Molecular Biosciences, University of the Ryukyus, Japan, as a recipient of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) postdoctoral fellowship. He was also the recipient of the Australian Government’s Endeavour Research Fellowship for postdoctoral research as an Adjunct Senior Researcher at the University of Tasmania, Australia. Dr. Hasanuzzaman’s current work is focused on the physiological and molecular mechanisms of environmental stress tolerance (salinity, drought, flood, and heavy metals/metalloids). Dr. Hasanuzzaman has published over 60 articles in peer-reviewed journals. He has edited six books and written 30 book chapters on important aspectsof plant physiology, plant stress tolerance, and crop production. According to Scopus®, Dr. Hasanuzzaman’s publications have received over 2,000 citations with an h-index of 23 and an i10-index of 44. He is an editor and reviewer for more than 50 peer-reviewed international journals and was a recipient of the ‘Publons Peer Review Award 2017.’ He has been honored by different authorities for to his outstanding performance in different fields like research and education, and he has received the World Academy of Science Young Scientist Award (2014).


Dr. Kamrun Nahar is an Associate Professor, Department of Agricultural Botany at Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, Dhaka, Bangladesh. She received her PhD Degree on ‘Environmental Stress Physiology of Plants’ in 2016 from the United Graduate School of Agricultural Sciences, Ehime University, Japan with Japanese Government (MEXT) Scholarship. Dr. Nahar has been involved in research with field crops emphasizing stress physiology since 2006. She has completed several research work and also continuing research project funded by Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University Research System and Ministry of Science and Technology (Bangladesh). She is supervising M.S. students. Dr. Nahar published number of articles in peer-reviewed journals and books of reputed publishers. She has published 50 articles and chapters related to plant physiology and environmental stresses with Springer, Elsevier, CRC Press, Wiley, etc. Her publications reached about 2000 citations with h-index: 22 (according to Scopus). She is involved in editorial activities and reviewer of international journals. She is active member of about 20 professional societies. Dr. Nahar attended different international conferences and presented 10 papers, and posters in national and international conferences in different countries (USA, Australia, Japan, Austria, Russia, China, etc.).


Dr. Masayuki Fujita is a Professor in the Laboratory of Plant Stress Responses, Faculty of Agriculture, Kagawa University, Kagawa, Japan. He received his B.Sc. in Chemistry from Shizuoka University, Shizuoka, and M.Agr. and Ph.D. in plant biochemistry from Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan. His research interests include physiological, biochemical, and molecular biological responses based on secondary metabolism in plants under various abiotic and biotic stresses; phytoalexin, cytochrome P450, glutathione S-transferase, and phytochelatin; and redox reaction and antioxidants. In the last decade his works were focused on oxidative stress and antioxidant defense in plants under environmental stress. His group investigates the role of different exogenous protectants in enhancing antioxidant defense and methylglyoxal detoxification systems in plants. He has supervised 4 M.S. students and 13 PhD students as main supervisor. He has about 150 publications in journal and books and has edited 8 books.