Thioarsenate Toxicity and Tolerance

Thioarsenates form from arsenite under sulfate-reducing conditions, e.g., in rice paddy soils, and are structural analogues of arsenate. Even though rice is one of the most important sources of human arsenic intake, nothing is published about uptake, toxicity, or tolerance of thioarsenates in plants. Experiments of researchers from Environmental Geochemistry and Plant Physiology at the University of Bayreuth using the model system Arabidopsis thaliana show that thiolated arsenic species have to be taken into account.