Biochemical Mechanisms of Detoxification in Higher Plants

by Kvesitadze, George; Khatisashvili, Gia; Sadunishvili, Tinatin; Ramsden, Jeremy J.

• ISBN13: 9783540289968
• ISBN10: 3540289968
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2006-03-18
• Publisher: Springer Verlag

Summary

Plants play a key role in purifying the biosphere of the toxic effects of industrial activity. This book shows how systematic application of the results of investigations into the metabolism of xenobiotics (foreign, often toxic substances) in plants could make a vastly increased contribution to planetary well-being. Deep physiological knowledge gained from an accumulation of experimental data enables the great differences between the detoxifying abilities of different plants for compounds of different chemical nature to be optimally exploited. Hence planting could be far more systematically adapted to actual environmental needs than is actually the case at present.The book could form the basis of specialist courses in universities and polytechnics devoted to environmental management, and advanced courses in plant physiology and biochemistry, for botany and integrative biology students. Fundamental plant physiology and biochemistry from the molecular level to whole plants and ecosystems are interwoven in a powerful and natural way, making this a unique contribution to the field.

Table of Contents

Contaminants in the environment	1	(54)
Environmental contaminants	1	(31)
Pesticides	3	(5)
Dioxins	8	(2)
Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)	10	(1)
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)	11	(1)
Phthalates	12	(1)
Surfactants	13	(2)
2,4,6-Trinitrotoluene (TNT)	15	(1)
Chlorinated alkanes and alkenes	16	(3)
Benzene and its homologues	19	(1)
Heavy metals	20	(5)
Gaseous contaminants	25	(7)
Migration of contaminants into different ecological systems	32	(23)
Migration of contaminants between soil and water	33	(2)
Migration of contaminants between water and air	35	(2)
Migration of contaminants between soil and air	37	(1)
Geographical migration of contaminants	38	(2)
Biotic migration of contaminants	40	(3)
Local contamination of ecosystems	43	(12)
Uptake, translocation and effects of contaminants in plants	55	(48)
Physiological aspects of absorption and translocation of contaminants in plants	55	(23)
Absorption of environmental contaminants by leaves	55	(6)
Penetration of contaminants into roots	61	(4)
Penetration of contaminants into the seeds	65	(1)
Translocation of environmental contaminants in plants	66	(12)
The action of environmental contaminants on the plant cell	78	(25)
Changes in cell ultrastructure	78	(19)
Changes in the activities of regular metabolism enzymes	97	(6)
The fate of organic contaminants in the plant cell	103	(64)
Transformation of environmental contaminants in plants	103	(5)
Excretion	108	(2)
Transformation	110	(57)
Conjugation with endogenous compounds	110	(10)
Degradation pathways	120	(13)
Enzymes transforming organic contaminants	133	(34)
The ecological importance of plants for contaminated environments	167	(42)
Plants for phytoremediation	171	(14)
Phytoremediation technologies	185	(13)
Phytotransformation	189	(1)
Phytoextraction	190	(2)
Rhizofiltration	192	(1)
Rhizodegradation	192	(1)
Hydraulic control	193	(1)
Phytostabilization	193	(1)
Phytovolatilization	193	(1)
Cleaning of the air	194	(4)
Transgenic plants in phytoremediation	198	(4)
The cost of phytoremediation technologies	202	(2)
Phytoremediation -- an effective natural tool for a healthy planet	204	(5)
References	209	(36)
Index	245