Arsenic (As) contamination is a serious issue throughout the world. The scale of problem is being realized to be even greater with the discovery of new As contaminated regions with time. Rice is a staple crop across the world with approximately half of the world population dependent on rice for their daily dietary intake especially in Southeast Asian countries. It is not only the consumption of rice grains but also food products based on rice, which contribute toward As exposure to humans. Plant growth promoting microorganisms (PGPMs) constitute a diverse group of microorganisms including bacteria, fungi and microalgae. These are associated with the rhizospheric zone of plants. They improve plant growth through different mechanisms like increase of nutrients level in plants, improved soil quality, siderophore and hormone production, changes in biochemical properties of plants etc. Another important assistance imparted by PGPMs is the altered speciation of As in the soil through methylation and subsequent change in the bioavailability of As to the plants. Further, a change in As speciation also affects As uptake and transport in plants. The purpose of this review is to discuss importance of PGPM association in As toxicity amelioration in plants along with favorably reducing As concentrations in crop plants or increasing As accumulation in phytoremediator plants. This review also presents mechanisms of action of PGPMs and describes both laboratory- and field-studies on the application of PGPMs for tackling As-contamination. The future prospects of successful utilization of PGPMs are also discussed.

Agricultural productivity is constantly being forced to maintain yield stability to feed the enormously growing world population. However, shrinking arable and nutrient-deprived soil and abiotic and biotic stressor (s) in different magnitudes put additional challenges to achieving global food security. Though well-defined, the concept of macro, micronutrients, and beneficial elements is from a plant nutritional perspective. Among various micronutrients, selenium (Se) is essential in small amounts for the life cycle of organisms, including crops. Selenium has the potential to improve soil health, leading to the improvement of productivity and crop quality. However, Se possesses an immense encouraging phenomenon when supplied within the threshold limit, also having wide variations. The supplementation of Se has exhibited promising outcomes in lessening biotic and abiotic stress in various crops. Besides, bulk form, nano-Se, and biogenic-Se also revealed some merits and limitations. Literature suggests that the possibilities of biogenic-Se in stress alleviation and fortifying foods are encouraging. In this article, apart from adopting a combination of a conventional extensive review of the literature and bibliometric analysis, the authors have assessed the journey of Se in the "soil to spoon" perspective in a diverse agroecosystem to highlight the research gap area. There is no doubt that the time has come to seriously consider the tag of beneficial elements associated with Se, especially in the drastic global climate change era.