Detoxification of 2,4-dinitrotoluene by transgenic tobacco plants expressing a bacterial flavodoxin

Significant effort has been directed in recent times to the use of plants to extract and detoxify nitroaromatics from polluted industrial facilities. We have explored the possibility of overcoming the phytotoxicity of the highly toxic and recalcitrant nitroderivative 2,4-dinitrotoluene (2,4-DNT) by expressing a cyanobacterial flavodoxin (Fld) in tobacco plants. We demonstrate here that transformants accumulating Fld in plastids display a remarkable increase in the ability to tolerate, take up, and transform 2,4-DNT, as compared to their wild-type siblings. We also show that Fld mediates one-electron reduction of 2,4-DNT in the presence of oxygen and especially in anaerobiosis. Moreover, Fld-loaded chloroplasts are able to convert 2,4-DNT into its aminoderivatives in the presence of light. The results suggest that expression of Fld in landscape plants could facilitate effective cleanup of sites contaminated with this class of pollutants.