Soil Indigenous Microbes Interact with Maize Plants in High-Arsenic Soils to Limit the Translocation of Inorganic Arsenic Species to Maize Upper Tissues

Arsenic (As) is a toxic metalloid that can enter the food chain through uptake by plants from soils followed by production of plant-based food. While soil–plant transfer of As in crops, especially rice, is relatively well studied, the role of soil microbes in As translocation in maize is not well understood. We performed a greenhouse pot experiment with maize plants grown at different soil As levels to study the role of soil microbes on uptake of different As species by maize. Three soil treatments with varying disturbance of the soil microbes (native soil, sterilized soil, and sterilized soil reconditioned with soil indigenous microbes) were intersected with three levels of As in soils (0, 100 and 200 mg spiked As, aged for 8 weeks) in a greenhouse experiment, where maize was grown for 5 months. Compared to uncontaminated soils, maize in high-As soils tended to accumulate more As in stems and less in leaves and grains, proportionally. Arsenic levels in stems were increased in sterilized soils due to the disturbance of the microbiome. The sterilization effects caused a phosphorus and manganese deficiency, leading to a higher As uptake in plants, that increased with rising As levels and resulted in a lower total dry biomass of the plants. In summary, this study highlights the role of soil indigenous microbes in limiting the uptake and translocation of inorganic As into maize. Compared to rice, cultivating maize plants in high-As soils is recommended.