A Phytoremediation Strategy for Arsenic

Technical Report · Tue May 01 04:00:00 EDT 2007

OSTI ID:1052220

Meagher, Richard B. ^[1]

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1. Univ. of Georgia Research Foundation, Inc., Athens, GA (United States); University of Georgia Research Foundation, Inc.

Arsenic pollution affects the health of several hundred millions of people world wide, and an estimated 10 million Americans have unsafe levels of arsenic in their drinking water. However, few environmentally sound remedies for cleaning up arsenic contaminated soil and water have been proposed. Phytoremediation, the use of plants to extract and sequester environmental pollutants, is one new technology that offers an ecologically sound solution to a devastating problem. We propose that it is less disruptive to the environment to harvest and dispose of several thousand pounds per acre of contaminated aboveground plant material, than to excavate and dispose of 1 to 5 million pounds of contaminated soil per acre (assumes contamination runs 3 ft deep). Our objective is to develop a genetics-based phytoremediation strategy for arsenic removal that can be used in any plant species. This strategy requires the enhanced expression of several transgenes from diverse sources. Our working hypothesis is that organ-specific expression of several genes controlling the transport, electrochemical state, and binding of arsenic will result in the efficient extraction and hyperaccumulation of arsenic into aboveground plant tissues. This hypothesis is supported by theoretical arguments and strong experimental data.

• Research Organization: Univ. of Georgia Research Foundation, Inc., Athens, GA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• DOE Contract Number: FG02-03ER63620
• OSTI ID: 1052220
• Report Number(s): DOE-ER--63620; RR093-250
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES