Transgenic Plants for Enhanced Biodegradation and Phytoremediation of Organic Xenobiotics
Biotechnology Advances 27 (2009) 474–488
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Biotechnology Advances j o u r n a l h o m e p a g e : w w w. e l s ev i e r. c o m / l o c a t e / b i o t e c h a d v
Research review paper
Transgenic plants for enhanced biodegradation and phytoremediation of organic xenobiotics
P.C. Abhilash, Sarah Jamil, Nandita Singh ⁎
Eco-Auditing Group, National Botanical Research Institute, Council of Scientific & Industrial Research, Rana Pratap Marg, Lucknow 226 001, Uttar Pradesh, India
a r t i c l e
i n f o
a b s t r a c t
Phytoremediation — the use of plants to clean up polluted soil and water resources — has received much attention in the last few years. Although plants have the inherent ability to detoxify xenobiotics, they generally lack the catabolic pathway for the complete degradation of these compounds compared to microorganisms. There are also concerns over the potential for the introduction of contaminants into the food chain. The question of how to dispose of plants that accumulate xenobiotics is also a serious concern. Hence the feasibility of phytoremediation as an approach to remediate environmental contamination is still somewhat in question. For these reasons, researchers have endeavored to engineer plants with genes that can bestow superior degradation abilities. A direct method for enhancing the efficacy of phytoremediation is to overexpress in plants the genes involved in metabolism, uptake, or transport of specific pollutants. Furthermore, the expression of suitable genes in root system enhances the rhizodegradation of highly recalcitrant compounds like PAHs, PCBs etc. Hence, the idea to amplify plant biodegradation of xenobiotics by genetic manipulation was developed, following a strategy similar to that used to develop transgenic crops. Genes from human, microbes, plants, and animals are being used successfully for this venture. The introduction of these genes can be readily achieved for many
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Biotechnology Advances j o u r n a l h o m e p a g e : w w w. e l s ev i e r. c o m / l o c a t e / b i o t e c h a d v
Research review paper
Transgenic plants for enhanced biodegradation and phytoremediation of organic xenobiotics
P.C. Abhilash, Sarah Jamil, Nandita Singh ⁎
Eco-Auditing Group, National Botanical Research Institute, Council of Scientific & Industrial Research, Rana Pratap Marg, Lucknow 226 001, Uttar Pradesh, India
a r t i c l e
i n f o
a b s t r a c t
Phytoremediation — the use of plants to clean up polluted soil and water resources — has received much attention in the last few years. Although plants have the inherent ability to detoxify xenobiotics, they generally lack the catabolic pathway for the complete degradation of these compounds compared to microorganisms. There are also concerns over the potential for the introduction of contaminants into the food chain. The question of how to dispose of plants that accumulate xenobiotics is also a serious concern. Hence the feasibility of phytoremediation as an approach to remediate environmental contamination is still somewhat in question. For these reasons, researchers have endeavored to engineer plants with genes that can bestow superior degradation abilities. A direct method for enhancing the efficacy of phytoremediation is to overexpress in plants the genes involved in metabolism, uptake, or transport of specific pollutants. Furthermore, the expression of suitable genes in root system enhances the rhizodegradation of highly recalcitrant compounds like PAHs, PCBs etc. Hence, the idea to amplify plant biodegradation of xenobiotics by genetic manipulation was developed, following a strategy similar to that used to develop transgenic crops. Genes from human, microbes, plants, and animals are being used successfully for this venture. The introduction of these genes can be readily achieved for many