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Advances in Biotechnology pp 227–240Cite as

Engineering Plants for Phytoremediation

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Abstract

In order to restore environmental balance, the utility of phytoremediation to remediate environmental contamination has received much attention in the last few years. Considerable effort has been devoted to making the transition from the laboratory to commercialization. Although plants have the inherent ability to detoxify contaminants, they generally lack the catabolic pathway for the complete degradation of these compounds as compared to microorganisms. There are also concerns over the potential for the introduction of contaminants into the food chain and how to dispose of plants that accumulate them in high quantities is also a serious concern. Hence, the utility of phytoremediation 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. Genes from microbes, plants, and animals are being used successfully to enhance the ability of plants to tolerate, remove, and degrade pollutants. Although improvement of plants by genetic engineering opens up new possibilities for phytoremediation, it is still in its research and development phase, with many technical issues needing to be addressed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Govind Ballabh Pant Engineering College, Ghurdauri, Pauri, Uttarakhand, 246194, India

    Mamta Baunthiyal

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  1. Mamta Baunthiyal
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Correspondence to Mamta Baunthiyal .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Regional Centre, Indira Gandhi National Open University, Mansarovar, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India

    Indu Ravi

  2. Biotechnology, Govind Ballabh Pant Engineering College, Ghurdauri, Pauri, Uttarakhand, India

    Mamta Baunthiyal

  3. Biochemical Engineering, Bipin Tripathi Kumaon Institute of Technology, Dwarahat, Uttarakhand, India

    Jyoti Saxena

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Baunthiyal, M. (2014). Engineering Plants for Phytoremediation. In: Ravi, I., Baunthiyal, M., Saxena, J. (eds) Advances in Biotechnology. Springer, New Delhi. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-81-322-1554-7_13

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