The silent cleanup arsenal: microbial biofertilizers and their enzymatic pathways for arsenic decontamination in agricultural soils

Abstract

Arsenic (As) contamination in agricultural soils endangers environmental health and food security by inducing phytotoxicity, disrupting nutrient balance, and impairing essential physiological functions in crops. A good and long-lasting method of reducing the negative effects of arsenic on plants is to use biofertilizers, which are microbial combinations that aid in plant growth and nutrient movement. This work describes new developments in the use of microbial biofertilizers, namely nitrogen-fixing rhizobia and bacteria that solubilize phosphate, sulfur, and zinc, to remove arsenic (As) from agricultural environments. These methods rely on microbial enzymes, including glutathione S-transferases, catalase, arsenate reductase (ArsC), and arsenite oxidase (AioA). Utilizing biofertilizers in conjunction with organic transporters such as biochar increases the activity of soil enzymes (urease, dehydrogenase), increases the soil’s capacity to retain As (from 21.4 to 35.9 mg/g), and reduces the accumulated As in edible tissues by 10.8% to 55.5%. In addition to increasing the amount of chlorophyll and the activities of antioxidant enzymes (SOD, CAT), the use of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) with inorganic nanoparticles (ZnO, Fe₃O₄) decreased the movement of As by up to 30.3% in important vegetable crops such as chili pepper (Capsicum annuum), ridge gourd (Luffa acutangula), and pumpkin (Cucurbita moschata). Beyond improving nutrient solubilization, these microbial–nanoparticle consortia also activate systemic resistance pathways, strengthen glutathione-mediated chelation, and remodel root architecture to further limit As uptake. Despite these promising outcomes, scalable field application remains challenged by strain-specific efficacy, formulation stability across variable soils, and a paucity of integrated multi-omics studies.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

Biofertilizers / Arsenic stress / Arsenic detoxification enzymes / Systemic resistance / Biochar / Nanoparticles

Highlight

	● Biofertilizers lower arsenic through redox reactions and sequestration.
	● CAT, GSTs, AioA, and ArsC are all crucial for the elimination of arsenic.
	● Biochar and nanoparticles with biofertilizers reduce As uptake in plants.

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