Enhancing Lead Tolerance in Arabidopsis
February 22, 2008| |
Lead is naturally present in all soils, generally ranging from 20-40 ppm (parts per million). Pollution, however, can increase lead concentration in soils to thousands ppm. High levels of lead in soil usually results from industrial waste dumping, as well as excessive use of lead-containing paints.
Scientists from the University of Hong Kong investigated the mechanism of lead tolerance in the model plant Arabidopsis. By modifying the expression of the genes coding for the acyl-CoA-binding proteins (ACBP) they developed plants tolerant to high levels of the toxic metal. ACBP modulates lipid and fatty acid bio synthesis in both animals and plant cells. The scientists studied the role of ACBP in plant lead tolerance since several studies have shown that the mammalian ACBP is the molecular target of lead action. Accumulation of lead in the shoots of the transgenic plants was found to be significantly higher than wild type. The transgenic plants overexpressing ACBP can be used for phytoremediating lead contaminated soils.
The abstract of the paper published by the Plant Journal is available at http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1365-313X.2008.03402.x
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