UK researchers develop GM tobacco plants capable of cleaning TNT contaminated soil, according to the American Chemical Society’s Environmental Science and Technology journal

UK researchers have developed genetically modified tobacco plants capable of cleaning trinitrotoluene (TNT) contaminated soil, a major problem that occurs in many World War II locations, sites of explosives manufacture and military training grounds.

The team inserted two genes from the bacterium, Enterobacter cloacae, encoding TNT-transforming nitroreductase enzymes into tobacco plants. Results not only showed that GM tobacco significantly reduced the toxicity of TNT contaminated soil but also increased the functional and genetic diversity of the surrounding bacterial community. Furthermore, in uncontaminated soil, nitroreductase expression did not show any effects in the natural microflora and surrounding plants.

The research was conducted at the Universities of Glasgow, Oxford, Cambridge and York and published in the August 15th issue of the American Chemical Society’s Environmental Science and Technology journal.
By Simon Varcoe

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