Endophytic Bacteria and their Potential Application to Improve the Phytoremediation of Contaminated Environments
Chiara
Mastretta1, Tanja Barac1, Jaco Vangronsveld1,
Lee Newman2, Safiyh Taghavi3 and Daniel van der
Lelie3*
1Environmental
Biology, Hasselt University, Agoralaan, Building D, B-3590 Diepenbeek,
Belgium,
2School of Public Health, 800 Sumter St., University of South
Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208 USA
3Biology Department, Building 463, Brookhaven National Laboratory,
Upton, NY 11973-5000, USA
Introduction
Endophytic bacteria seem to have a ubiquitous existence in most, if
not all, higher plant species without causing disease symptoms. Therefore,
they seem to be ideal to complement certain metabolic properties of their
host plant, such as the fixation of nitrogen or the detoxification of
contaminants. This review describes the ecology of endophytic bacteria
and a number of natural beneficial interactions between endophytic bacteria
and their plant host, such as diazotrophy. It also exploits the possibilities
of using endophytic bacteria as carriers of new metabolic properties,
which should assist the host plant in degrading organic contaminants or
detoxifying heavy metals that presently cause a problem for phytoremediation.
Finally, we will discuss the potential of horizontal gene transfer as
a tool to adapt the metabolic capability of the endogenous endophytic
community to better deal with specific environmental contaminants.
*To whom
correspondence may be addressed (vdlelied@bnl.gov)
SREL Reprint #3016
Mastretta, C., T. Barac, J. Vangronsveld, L. Newman, S. Taghavi and D. van der Lelie. 2006. Endophytic Bacteria and their Potential Application to Improve the Phytoremediation of Contaminated Environments. Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering Reviews 23:175-207.
