Geneticists trick plants into cleaning up environmental crud
Geneticists trick plants into cleaning up
environmental crud
Scientists since the early ’90s have seen the
potential for cleaning up contaminated sites by growing plants
able to take up nasty groundwater pollutants through their roots. Then the
plants break certain kinds of pollutants into harmless byproducts that the
plants either incorporate into their roots, stems and leaves or release into the
air.
The problem with plants that are capable of doing this is that the process is slow and halts completely when growth stops in winter. Using plants in this way, a process called phytoremediation, often hasn’t made sense given the timetables required by regulatory agencies at remediation sites.
Scientists led by Sharon Doty say that genetically engineered poplar plants being grown in a laboratory were able to take as much as 91 percent of trichloroethylene, the most common groundwater contaminant at U.S. Superfund sites, out of a liquid solution. Unaltered plants removed 3 percent. The poplar plants — all cuttings just several inches tall growing in vials — also were able to break down, or metabolize, the pollutant into harmless byproducts at rates 100 times that of the control plants.
Because there is concern that transgenic trees might get into regular forests, Doty and her colleagues believe poplars may be a good choice, she said. Poplars are fast growing and can grow for several years without flowering, at which time they could be harvested to prevent seeds from generating. And unlike some other kinds of trees, branches of the hybrid poplar being studied do not take root in soils when branches fall to the ground.
Between superstition and ignorance, this nation has elevated fear of science to the level of political correctness. I wonder if this study can ever get to the pilot project stage - much less lead to implementation in pollution clean-up.
The problem with plants that are capable of doing this is that the process is slow and halts completely when growth stops in winter. Using plants in this way, a process called phytoremediation, often hasn’t made sense given the timetables required by regulatory agencies at remediation sites.
Scientists led by Sharon Doty say that genetically engineered poplar plants being grown in a laboratory were able to take as much as 91 percent of trichloroethylene, the most common groundwater contaminant at U.S. Superfund sites, out of a liquid solution. Unaltered plants removed 3 percent. The poplar plants — all cuttings just several inches tall growing in vials — also were able to break down, or metabolize, the pollutant into harmless byproducts at rates 100 times that of the control plants.
Because there is concern that transgenic trees might get into regular forests, Doty and her colleagues believe poplars may be a good choice, she said. Poplars are fast growing and can grow for several years without flowering, at which time they could be harvested to prevent seeds from generating. And unlike some other kinds of trees, branches of the hybrid poplar being studied do not take root in soils when branches fall to the ground.
Between superstition and ignorance, this nation has elevated fear of science to the level of political correctness. I wonder if this study can ever get to the pilot project stage - much less lead to implementation in pollution clean-up.
Posted: Fri - October 19, 2007 at 09:04 AM