Transgenic plants for enhanced phytoremediation of toxic explosives

Phytoremediation of organic pollutants, such as explosives, is often a slow and incomplete process, potentially leading to the accumulation of toxic metabolites that can be further introduced into the food chain. During the past decade, plants have been genetically modified to overcome the inherent...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Current opinion in biotechnology 2009-04, Vol.20 (2), p.231-236
Main Author: Van Aken, Benoit
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Bacteria
Biodegradation, Environmental
Environmental Pollution - prevention & control
Enzymes
Explosive Agents - metabolism
Explosives
Internal Medicine
Phytoremediation
Plants (organisms)
Plants, Genetically Modified - genetics
Plants, Genetically Modified - metabolism
Toxic
Toxicology
Transgenic
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Summary:Phytoremediation of organic pollutants, such as explosives, is often a slow and incomplete process, potentially leading to the accumulation of toxic metabolites that can be further introduced into the food chain. During the past decade, plants have been genetically modified to overcome the inherent limitations of plant detoxification capabilities, following a strategy similar to the development of transgenic crop. Bacterial genes encoding enzymes involved in the breakdown of explosives, such as nitroreductase and cytochrome P450, have been introduced in higher plants, resulting in significant enhancement of plant tolerance, uptake, and detoxification performances. Transgenic plants exhibiting biodegradation capabilities of microorganisms bring the promise of an efficient and environmental-friendly technology for cleaning up polluted soils.
ISSN:0958-1669
1879-0429
DOI:10.1016/j.copbio.2009.01.011