Research Projects

Arsenic (As) concentration in agricultural soils poses a global challenge for crop productivity and human health. Inorganic As is considered a class I carcinogen and ranks first on the list of hazardous substances in US-CERCLA. The Ganga-Meghna-Bramhaputra basin, where rice and potato are grown, has a high As level (13.12 mg/kg) that exceeds the global average (10.0 mg/kg). Methylation is a natural detoxification process of As, but higher plants cannot methylate it due to the lack of arseniteIII methyltransferase (arsM) enzyme. Several studies have expressed arsM encoding genes in rice and microalgal AsIII S-adenosyl methyltransferase genes in A. thaliana. Transgenic plants have shown strong ability to methylate arsenic, with fungal arsM, WaarsM, reducing grain arsenic accumulation in transgenic rice. However, no attempt has been made to reduce As accumulation in crops like potato by recombinant expression of these genes. The project aims to screen popular varieties and hybrids grown in arsenic contaminated soil in the state of Uttar Pradesh. The aim is to develop transgenic potato lines with microalgal AsIII methyltransferase gene using Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. The optimal arsM expressing lines will be identified through molecular analysis. The selected GM potato lines will be clonally propagated and analyzed for arsenic accumulation. If successful, transgenic potato would be the first potato variety suited for cultivation on As contaminated soil.