Transgenic rice plants expressing human p450 genes involved in xenobiotic metabolism for phytoremediation.

Phytoremediation is the use of plants to remove xenobiotic compounds from the environment. Plants have the inherent ability to detoxify xenobiotic pollutants, but they are generally poor at degrading them. The introduction of genes involved in xenobiotic degradation is aimed at enhancing plants' potential further. Rice (Oryza sativa) is a good candidate for this purpose and has been transformed with genes encoding cytochrome P450 monooxygenases CYP1A1, CYP2B6, and CYP2C19. The transgenic plants were more tolerant to various herbicides than nontransgenic Nipponbare rice plants, owing to enhanced metabolism by the introduced P450 enzymes. Transgenic plants were able to remove atrazine and metolachlor from soil. Field testing and risk assessment are very important for developing transgenic plants for phytoremediation. Transgenic rice plants should become useful as herbicide-tolerant crops and for phytoremediation of xenobiotic pollutants in future. Copyright 2008 S. Karger AG, Basel.