title: Use of plant roots for phytoremediation and molecular farming.
abstract: Alternative agriculture, which expands the uses of plants well beyond food and fiber, is beginning to change plant biology. Two plant-based biotechnologies were recently developed that take advantage of the ability of plant roots to absorb or secrete various substances. They are (i) phytoextraction, the use of plants to remove pollutants from the environment and (ii) rhizosecretion, a subset of molecular farming, designed to produce and secrete valuable natural products and recombinant proteins from roots. Here we discuss recent advances in these technologies and assess their potential in soil remediation, drug discovery, and molecular farming.
authors.affiliation: Biotech Center, Foran Hall, Cook College, Rutgers University, 59 Dudley Road, New Brunswick, NJ 08901-8520, USA.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gleba
authors.forename: N V
authors.initials: NV
authors.lastname: Borisjuk
authors.forename: L G
authors.initials: LG
authors.lastname: Borisjuk
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kneer
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Poulev
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Skarzhinskaya
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dushenkov
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Logendra
authors.forename: Y Y
authors.initials: YY
authors.lastname: Gleba
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Raskin
mesh_terms: D000383:Agriculture / Q000379:methods*; D000818:Animals; D001709:Biotechnology / Q000379:methods*; D018517:Plant Roots; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000378:metabolism; D012987:Soil; D012989:Soil Pollutants
chemical_list: D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D012987:Soil; D012989:Soil Pollutants