Phytoremediation of triphenylmethane dyes by overexpressing a Citrobacter sp. triphenylmethane reductase in transgenic Arabidopsis.

Xiao-Yan Fu, Wei Zhao, Ai-Sheng Xiong, Yong-Sheng Tian, Bo Zhu, Ri-He Peng, Quan-Hong Yao

Shanghai Key Laboratory of Agricultural Genetics and Breeding, Biotechnology Research Institute, Shanghai Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 2901 Beidi Road, Shanghai, People's Republic of China.

Applied microbiology and biotechnology 2013 Feb

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Triphenylmethane dyes are extensively utilized in textile industries, medicinal products, biological stains, and food processing industries, etc. They are generally considered as xenobiotic compounds, which are very recalcitrant to biodegradation. The widespread persistence of such compounds has generated concerns with regard to remediation of them because of their potential carcinogenicity, teratogenicity, and mutagenicity. In this study, we present a system of phytoremediation by Arabidopsis plants developed on the basis of overexpression of triphenylmethane reductase (TMR) from the Citrobacter sp. The morphology and growth of TMR transgenic Arabidopsis plan ts showed significantly enhanced tolerances to crystal violet (CV) and malachite green (MG). Further, HPLC and HPLC-MS analyses of samples before and after dye decolorization in culture media revealed that TMR transgenic plants exhibited strikingly higher capabilities of removing CV from their media and high efficiencies of converting CV to non-toxic leucocrystal violet (LCV). This work indicates that microbial degradative gene may be transgenically exploited in plants for bioremediation of triphenylmethane dyes in the environment.

Citation

Xiao-Yan Fu, Wei Zhao, Ai-Sheng Xiong, Yong-Sheng Tian, Bo Zhu, Ri-He Peng, Quan-Hong Yao. Phytoremediation of triphenylmethane dyes by overexpressing a Citrobacter sp. triphenylmethane reductase in transgenic Arabidopsis. Applied microbiology and biotechnology. 2013 Feb;97(4):1799-806