Transgenic plants to improve rhizoremediation of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)

Recent investigations have shown that the three components of the biphenyl dioxygenase and the 2,3-dihydroxybiphenyl dioxygenase can be produced actively in transgenic plants. Both enzymes catalyze critical steps of the bacterial polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) degrading pathway. On the basis of these observations, optimized plant-microbe bioremediation processes in which transgenic plants would initiate PCB metabolism and release the metabolites for further degradation by rhizobacteria has been proposed. Since this is still a relatively new approach for PCB remediation, its successful application will require efforts first, to engineer improved PCB-degrading enzymes; second, to co-ordinately express these enzymes' components in plants; and third, to better understand the mechanisms by which plants and rhizobacteria interact to degrade organic pollutants.