Morpho-physiological adaptations of rice cultivars under heavy metal stress: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Document Type

Article

Source Title

Life

Volume

15

Issue

2

First Page

189

Publication Date

2025

Abstract

Soil contamination, including in rice fields, arises from a variety of natural processes and anthropogenic activities, leading to an accumulation of heavy metals. While extensive research has addressed the bioaccumulation of heavy metals in rice, only limited systematic reviews have examined their specific impact on the morpho-physiological traits of rice plants. This review aims to provide a comprehensive synthesis of current studies detailing the rice cultivars, types of heavy metals investigated, study designs, sampling locations, and experimental sites while systematically analyzing the morphological and physiological responses of rice cultivars to heavy metal stress. Studies show that morphological traits generally exhibit a decline under heavy metal exposure. Physiologically, rice cultivars tend to show decreased total chlorophyll and carotenoid levels, along with increased levels of malondialdehyde (MDA), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), and antioxidant enzymes such as superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), catalase (CAT), ascorbate peroxidase (APX), and proline. These findings suggest that plant genotype, type of heavy metal, and intensity of stress significantly modulate the morphological and physiological responses of rice, highlighting critical areas for further research in heavy metal stress tolerance in rice cultivars.

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Digitial Object Identifier (DOI)

10.3390/life15020189

Disciplines

Agricultural Science

Keywords

Soil pollution; Rice—Effect of heavy metals on; Rice—Physiology; Heavy metals—Environmental aspects

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