title: Phytodegradation of organophosphorus compounds by transgenic plants expressing a bacterial organophosphorus hydrolase.
abstract: Organophosphorus (OP) compounds are widely used as pesticides in agriculture but cause broad-area environmental pollution. In this work, we have expressed a bacterial organophosphorus hydrolase (OPH) gene in tobacco plants. An assay of enzyme activity showed that transgenic plants could secrete OPH into the growth medium. The transgenic plants were resistant to methyl parathion (Mep), an OP pesticide, as evidenced by a toxicity test showing that the transgenic plants produced greater shoot and root biomass than did the wild-type plants. Furthermore, at 0.02% (v/v) Mep, the transgenic plants degraded more than 99% of Mep after 14 days of growth. Our work indicates that transgenic plants expressing an OPH gene may provide a new strategy for decontaminating OP pollutants.
authors.affiliation: Biotechnology Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, PR China.
authors.forename: Xiaoxue
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Ningfeng
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.forename: Xiaoyu
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Chu
authors.forename: Jian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tian
authors.forename: Bin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Yao
authors.forename: Yunliu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Fan
mesh_terms: D043303:Aryldialkylphosphatase / Q000235:genetics*; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D003470:Culture Media / Q000378:metabolism; D007306:Insecticides / Q000378:metabolism; D008743:Methyl Parathion / Q000378:metabolism; D009943:Organophosphorus Compounds / Q000378:metabolism*; D010575:Pesticides / Q000378:metabolism*; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism*; D044205:Pseudomonas pseudoalcaligenes / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics; D036226:Seedlings / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D014026:Nicotiana / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D003470:Culture Media; D007306:Insecticides; D009943:Organophosphorus Compounds; D010575:Pesticides; D008743:Methyl Parathion; D043303:Aryldialkylphosphatase