Abstract
Explosives are toxic, recalcitrant to degradation and contaminate large areas of land and ground water. Remediation of these synthetic compounds is difficult and an enormous logistical task. Phytoremediation is a technique that offers an environmentally friendly, low-cost alternative to current remediation techniques; however, this approach is hindered by the low inherent metabolic abilities of plants towards these xenobiotic compounds and the phytotoxicity of these compounds. As a result of recent advances in our knowledge of the biochemistry underlying endogenous plant detoxification systems and the use of genetic engineering to combine bacterial explosives-detoxifying genes with the phytoremediatory benefits of plants, this technology is now poised for testing in the field and in a wider range of plants, such as poplar and perennial grasses.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 73-81 |
| Number of pages | 9 |
| Journal | TRENDS IN BIOTECHNOLOGY |
| Volume | 27 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Feb 2009 |
Keywords
- PENTAERYTHRITOL TETRANITRATE REDUCTASE
- ENTEROBACTER-CLOACAE PB2
- DIFFERENT BIOCHEMICAL COMPARTMENTS
- ARMY AMMUNITION PLANT
- SP STRAIN DN22
- HEXAHYDRO-1,3,5-TRINITRO-1,3,5-TRIAZINE RDX
- 2,4,6-TRINITROTOLUENE TNT
- GENE-EXPRESSION
- BACTERIAL NITROREDUCTASE
- ENERGETIC COMPOUNDS