Hannink, N., Rosser, S.J., French, C.E. et al. (4 more authors) (2001) Phytodetoxification of TNT by transgenic plants expressing bacterial nitroreductase. Nature Biotechnology, 19 (12). pp. 1168-1172. ISSN 1087-0156
Abstract
There is major international concern over the wide-scale contamination of soil and associated ground water by persistent explosives residues. 2,4,6-Trinitrotoluene (TNT) is one of the most recalcitrant and toxic of all the military explosives. The lack of affordable and effective cleanup technologies for explosives contamination requires the development of better processes. Significant effort has recently been directed toward the use of plants to extract and detoxify TNT. To explore the possibility of overcoming the high phytotoxic effects of TNT, we expressed bacterial nitroreductase in tobacco plants. Nitroreductase catalyzes the reduction of TNT to hydroxyaminodinitrotoluene (HADNT), which is subsequently reduced to aminodinitrotoluene derivatives (ADNTs). Transgenic plants expressing nitroreductase show a striking increase in ability to tolerate, take up, and detoxify TNT. Our work suggests that expression of nitroreductase (NR) in plants suitable for phytoremediation could facilitate the effective cleanup of sites contaminated with high levels of explosives.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of York |
Academic Units: | The University of York > Faculty of Sciences (York) > Biology (York) |
Depositing User: | York RAE Import |
Date Deposited: | 11 Mar 2009 14:44 |
Last Modified: | 11 Mar 2009 14:44 |
Published Version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nbt1201-1168 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Nature Publishing Group |
Identification Number: | 10.1038/nbt1201-1168 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:7067 |