Selection of plants for roles in phytoremediation: the importance of glucosylation

Brazier-Hicks, M.; Edwards, L.A.; Edwards, R.

Abstract

Over-expression and transposon mutagenesis in root cultures of Arabidopsis thaliana demonstrated the importance of the family 1 glycosyltransferase UGT72B1 in catalysing the N-glucosylation of the persistent pollutant 3,4-dichloroaniline (DCA). In phytotoxicity studies with DCA in seedlings, over-expression of UGT72B1 enhanced sensitivity, whereas the knockouts were more resistant than the controls. In contrast, manipulating the expression of UGT72B1 had no effect on the O-glucosylation, or toxicity, of chlorophenols. When N-glucosylation was disrupted in plants, radioactivity derived from [14C]-DCA became covalently bound into high molecular weight insoluble material, principally associated with the lignin fraction. This suggested that insolubilization into stable cell wall components represented a more effective mechanism of DCA detoxification than the formation of N-glycosidic conjugates. A screen of plants used in remediation, identified low levels of N-glucosyltransferase activity in switchgrass and high activities in reed canary grass. When incubated with [14C]-DCA, reed canary grass plants accumulated soluble N-glycosides of DCA, whereas switchgrass formed insoluble residues. Consistent with the results obtained in studies with Arabidopsis, phytotoxicity trials with DCA demonstrated that switchgrass was more tolerant than reed canary grass. Our studies provide a new biochemical basis for selecting plants for useful remediating traits towards specific classes of pollutants.

Citation

Brazier-Hicks, M., Edwards, L., & Edwards, R. (2007). Selection of plants for roles in phytoremediation: the importance of glucosylation. Plant Biotechnology Journal, 5(5), 627-635. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-7652.2007.00266.x

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Sep 1, 2007
• Deposit Date: Sep 8, 2016
• Publicly Available Date: Sep 12, 2016
• Journal: Plant Biotechnology Journal
• Print ISSN: 1467-7644
• Electronic ISSN: 1467-7652
• Publisher: Association of Applied Biologists
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 5
• Issue: 5
• Pages: 627-635
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-7652.2007.00266.x
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1545783