secondary plant metabolites in phytoremediation and….pdf

Secondary plant metabolites in phytoremediation and biotransformation Andrew C. Singer 1, David E. Crowley 2and Ian P. Thompson 1 1Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Oxford, Mans?eld Rd, Oxford, UK, OX1 3SR. 2Dept of Environmental Science, University of California, Riverside, California, 92521, USA. For millennia, secondary plant metabolites have antagonized anisms, insects and humans alike, ultimately generating plex and dynamic mixture of facultative and obligate interactions from symbioses to pathogenicity. Secondary plant metab- olites have an important role in developing the myriad anic pollutant-degrading enzymes found in nature. The link between secondary plant metabolites and enzymatic diversity has yet to be exploited, with potential applications in ?elds as varied as pest man- agement, bioremediation and ?ne chemical production. Between 1997 and 2002, .600 research papers supported the observation that the addition of a plant to a con- taminated medium (. soil, wetland and hydroponics) enhances the removal and/or transformation of a pollu- tant. However, the mechanisms are often left unresolved. The paradox is that most of the persistent pollutants that are bio- and phyto-remediated are novel man-made chemicals (xenobiotics), which are thought to be different enough from pounds to preclude their expe- ditious biotransformation. Here, we present published evidence f