Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Phytoremediation of toxic aromatic pollutants from soil

  • Mini-Review
  • Published:
Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The enormous growth of industrialization, and the use of numerous aromatic compounds in dyestuffs, explosives, pesticides and pharmaceuticals has resulted in serious environmental pollution and has attracted considerable attention continuously over the last two decades. Many aromatic hydrocarbons, nitroaromatic compounds, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, polychlorinated biphenyls, diauxins and their derivatives are highly toxic, mutagenic and/or carcinogenic to natural microflora as well as to higher systems including humans. The increasing costs and limited efficiency of traditional physicochemical treatments of soil have spurred the development of new remediation technologies. Phytoremediation is emerging as an efficient treatment technology that uses plants to bioremediate pollutants from soil environments. Various modern tools and analytical devices have provided insight into the selection and optimization of remediation processes by various plant species. Sites heavily polluted with organic contaminants require hyperaccumulators, which could be developed by genetic engineering approaches. However, efficient hyperaccumulation by naturally occurring plants is also feasible and can be made practical by improving their nutritional and environmental requirements. Thus, phytoremediation of organics appears a very promising technology for the removal of contaminants from polluted soil. In this review, certain aspects of plant metabolism associated with phytoremediation of organic contaminants and their relevant phytoremediation efforts are discussed.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1.
Fig. 2.
Fig. 3.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Alkorta I, Garbisu C (2001) Phytoremediation of organic contaminants in soils. Bioresour Technol 79:273–276

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Aprill W, Sims RC (1990) Evaluation of the use of prairie grasses for stimulating polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon treatment in soil. Chemosphere 20:253–265

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Best EHP, Zappi ME, Fredrickson HL, Sprecher SL, Larson SL, Ochman M (1997) Screening of aquatic and wetland plant species for the phytoremediation of explosives-contaminated groundwater from the Iowa Army Ammunition Plant. Ann N Y Acad Sci 829:179–194

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bizily S, Rugh CL, Summers AO, Meagher RB (1999) Phytoremediation of methylmercury pollution: Mer B expression in Arabidopsis thaliana confers resistance to organomercurials. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 96:6808–6813

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bockers M, Rivero C, Thielde B, Janowski T, Schmidt B (1994) Translocation and metabolism of 3,4-dichloroaniline in soybean and wheat plants. J Biosci 49:719–726

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Burken JG, Schnoor JL (1998) Predictive relationships for uptake of organic contaminants by hybrid poplar trees. Environ Sci Technol 32:3379–3385

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Burken JG, Schnoor JL (1999) Distribution and volatilization of organic contaminants following uptake by hybrid poplar trees. Int J Phytoremed 1:139–152

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Burken JG, Shanks JV, Thompson PL (2000) Phytoremediation and plant metabolism of explosives and nitroaromatic compounds. In: Spain JC, Hughes JB, Knackmuss HJ (eds) Biodegradation of nitroaromatic compounds and explosives. Lewis, Washington, D.C., pp 239–275

  • Campbell S, Paquin D, Awaya JD, Li QX (2002) Remediation of benzo[a]pyrene and chrysene-contaminated soil with industrial hemp (Cannabis sativa) Int J Phytoremed 4:157–168

    Google Scholar 

  • Carman E, Crossman T, Gatliff E (1998) Phytoremediation of no. 2 fuel-oil contaminated soil. J Soil Contam 7:455–466

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cerniglia CE (1997) Fungal metabolism of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons: past, present and future applications in bioremediation. J Ind Microbiol Biotechnol 19:324–333

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Chen W, Peter RM, McArdle S, Thummel KE, Sigle RO, Nelson SD (1996) Baculovirus expression and purification of human and rat cytochrome P450 2E1. Arch Biochem Biophys 335:123–130

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cole DJ (1983) Oxidation of xenobiotics in plants. In: Hutson DH, Roberts TR (eds) Progress in pesticide chemistry and toxicology. Wiley, New York, pp 199–254

  • Comai L, Moran P, Maslyar D (1990) Novel and useful properties of a chimeric plant promoter combining CaMV 35S and MAS elements. Plant Mol Biol 15:373–381

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cunningham SD, Ow DW (1996) Promises and prospects of phytoremediation. Plant Physiol 110:715–719

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cunningham SD, Berti WR, Hung JW (1995) Phytoremediation of contaminated soils. Trends Biotechnol 13:393–397

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Curl EA, Truclove B (1986) The rhizosphere. Springer, Berlin Heidelberg New York

  • Daane LL, Harjono I, Zylstra GJ, Maggblom MM (2001) Isolation and characterization of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria associated with the rhizobia of salt marsh plants. Appl Environ Microbiol 67:2683–2691

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Davis LC, Banks ML, Schwab AP, Muralidharan N, Erickson LE, Tracy JC (1996) Plant based bioremediation. In: Sikdar I (ed) Bioremediation. Technomics, Basel, Switzerland

  • Doty SL, Shang TQ, Wilson AM, Tangen J, Westergreen AD, Newman LA, Strand SE, Gordon MP (2000) Enhanced metabolism of halogenated hydrocarbons in transgenic plants containing mammalian cytochrome P450 2E1. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 97:6287–6291

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Doty SL, Shang TQ, Wilson AM, Moore AL, Newman LA, Strand SE, Gordon MP (2003) Metabolism of the soil and groundwater contaminants, ethylene dibromide and trichloroethylene, by the tropical leguminous tree, Leuceana leucocephala. Water Res 37:441–449

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • French CE, Rosser SJ, Davis GJ, Nicklin S, Bruce NC (1999) Biodegradation of explosives by transgenic plants expressing pentaerythritol tetranitrate reductase. Nat Biotechnol 17:491–494

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gorden M, Choe N, Duffy J, Ekuan G, Hilman P, Muiznieks I, Marty R, Shurtleff BB, Strand S, Wilmoth J, Newman L (1998) Phytoremediation of trichloroethylene with hybrid poplars. Environ Health Perspect 106:1001–1004

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Groom CA, Halasz A, Paquet L, Morris N, Olivier L, Dubois C, Hawari J (2002) Accumulation of HMX (octahydro-1,3,5,7-tetranitro-1,3,5,7-tetrazocine) in indigenous and agricultural plants grown in HMX-contaminated anti-tank firing range soil. Environ Sci Technol 36:112–118

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hatzios KK, Penner D (1982) Metabolism of herbicides in higher plants. CRC Press, Boca Raton, Fla.

  • Huang JW, Chen J, Berti WR, Cunningham SD (1997) Phytoremediation of lead-contaminated soils: role of synthetic chelates in lead phytoremediation. Environ Sci Technol 31:800–805

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hughes JB, Shanks J, Vanderford M, Lauritzen J, Bhadra R (1997) Transformation of TNT by aquatic plants and plant tissue cultures. Environ Sci Technol 31:266–271

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Komoßa D, Langerbartels C, Sanderman H (1995) Metabolic processes for organic chemicals in plants. In: Trapp S, McFarland JC (eds) Plant contamination-modeling and simulation of organic chemical process. CRC Press, Boca Raton, Fla., pp 69–103

  • Krämer U, Chardonnens AN (2001) The use of transgenic plants in the bioremediation of soils contaminated with trace elements. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 55:661–672

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lalande TL, Skipper HD, Wolf DC, Reynolds CM, Freedman DL, Pinkerton BW, Hartel PG, Grimes LW (2003) Phytoremediation of pyrene in a Cecil soil under field conditions. Int J Phytoremed 5:1–12

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Larson SL, Jones RP, Escalon BL, Parker D (1999a) Classification of explosives transformation products in plant tissues. Environ Toxicol Chem 18:1270–1276

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Larson SL, Weiss CA, Escalon BL, Parker D (1999b) Increased extraction efficiency of acetonitrile/water mixtures for explosives determination in plant tissues. Chemosphere 38:2153–2162

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Liste HH, Alexander M (2000) Accumulation of phenanthrene and pyrene in rhizosphere soil. Chemosphere 40:11–14

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Macek T, Mackova M, Kas J (2000) Exploitation of plants for the removal of organics in environmental remediation. Biotechnol Adv 18:23–34

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mackova M, Macek T, Kucerova P, Burkhard J, Trisk J, Demnerova K (1998) Plant tissue cultures in model studies of transformation of polychlorinated biphenyls. Chem Papers 52:599–600

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Maier RM, Neilson JW, Artiola JF, Jordan FL, Glenn EP, Descher SM (2001) Remediation of metal-contaminated soil and sludge using biosurfactant technology. Int J Occup Med Environ Health 14:241–248

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Meagher RB (2000) Phytoremediation of toxic elements and organic pollutants. Curr Opin Plant Biol 3:153–162

    Google Scholar 

  • Newman LA, Doty SL, Gery KL, Heilman PE, Muiiznieks I, Shang TQ, Siemieniec ST, Strand SE, Wang X, Wilson AM, Gordon MP (1998) Phytoremediation of organic contaminants: a review of phytoremediation research at the University of Washington. J Soil Commun 7:531–542

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Paul EA, Clark FE (1989) Soil microbiology and biochemistry. Academic Press, New York

  • Pena L, Seguin A (2001) Recent advances in the genetic transformation of trees. Trends Biotechnol 19:500–506

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pletsch M, Araujo BSD, Charlwood BV (1999) Novel biotechnological approaches in environmental remediation research. Biotechnol Adv 17:679–687

    Google Scholar 

  • Pradhan SP, Conrad JR, Paterek JR, Srivastava VJ (1998) Potential of phytoremediation for treatment of PAHs in soil at MGP sites. J Soil Contam 7:467–480

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rugh CL, Senecoff JF, Meagher RB, Merkle SA (1998) Development of transgenic yellow poplar for mercury phytoremediation. Nat Biotechnol 16:925–928

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Salt DE, Smith RD, Raskin I (1998) Phytoremediation. Annu Rev Plant Physiol Plant Mol Biol 49:643–668

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sandermann H (1994) Higher plant metabolism of xenobiotics: the green liver concept. Pharmacogenetics 4:225–241

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Schneider KJ, Oltmanns J, Radenberg T, Schneider T, Pauly-Mundegar D (1996) Uptake of nitroaromatic compounds in plants. Implications for risk assessment of ammunition sites. Environ Sci Pollut Res Int 3:135–138

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Schnoor JL, Licht LA, McCutcheon SC, Wolfe NL, Carreira LH (1995) Phytoremediation of organic and nutrient contaminants. Environ Sci Technol 29:318–323

    Google Scholar 

  • Schwab AP, Banks MK (1994) Biologically mediated dissipation of polyaromatic hydrocarbons in the root zone. In: Anderson TA, Coats JR (eds) Bioremediation through rhizosphere technology. American Chemical Society, Washington, D.C.

  • Shang TQ, Doty SL, Wilson AM, Howald WN, Gordon MP (2001) Trichloroethylene oxidative metabolism in plants: the trichloroethanol pathway. Phytochemistry 58:1055–1065

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Shanks JV, Morgan J (1999) Plant 'hairy root' culture. Curr Opin Biotechnol 10:151–155

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Shimp JF, Tracy JC, Davis LC, Lee E, Huang W, Ericknon LE, Schnoor JL (1993) Beneficial effects of plants in the remediation of soil and groundwater contaminated with organic materials. Crit Rev Environ Sci Technol 23:41–77

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Shiota N, Nagasawa A, Sakaki T, Yabusaki Y, Ohkawa H (1994) Herbicide-resistant tobacco plant expressing the fused enzyme between rat cytochrome P450 1A1 (CYP 1A1) and yeast NADPH-cytochrome P450 oxidoreductase. Plant Physiol 106:17–23

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Siciliano SD, Goldie H, Germida JJ (1998) Enzymatic activity in root exudates of dohurian wild rye (Elymus dauricus) that degrades 2-chlorobenzoic acid. J Agric Food Chem 46:5–7

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sung K, Munster CL, Rhykerd R, Drew MC, Yavuz Corapcioglu M (2002) The use of box lysimeters with freshly contaminated soils to study the phytoremediation of recalcitrant organic contaminants. Environ Sci Technol 36:2249–2255

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Thompson PL, Ramer L, Schnoor JL (1998) Uptake and transformation of TNT by hybrid poplar trees. Environ Sci Technol 32:975–980

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Thompson PL, Ramer L, Schnoor JL (1999) Hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazine translocation in poplar trees. Environ Toxicol Chem 18:279–284

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Trapp S (1995) Model for uptake of xenobiotics into plants. In: Trapp S, McFarlane JC (eds) Plant contamination: modeling and simulation of organic chemical process. CRC Press, Boca Raton, Fla., pp 107–152

  • Wilde HD, Meagher RB, Merkle SA (1992) Expression of foreign gene transgenic yellow-poplar plants. Plant Physiol 98:114–120

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yateem A, Balba MT, E1-Nawawy AS, A1-Awadhi N (1999) Experiments in phytoremediation of Gulf war contaminated soil. Soil Groundwater Cleanup 2:31–33

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgement

We thank Dr. Sumeet Labana for helpful reading of the manuscript.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Sector-39A, Institute of Microbial Technology, 160036, Chandigarh, India

    O. V. Singh & R. K. Jain

Authors
  1. O. V. Singh
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. R. K. Jain
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to R. K. Jain.

Additional information

IMTECH Communication No. 013/2002

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Singh, O.V., Jain, R.K. Phytoremediation of toxic aromatic pollutants from soil. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 63, 128–135 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-003-1425-1

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-003-1425-1

Keywords

Search

Navigation