Cookies on this website

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you click 'Accept all cookies' we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies and you won't see this message again. If you click 'Reject all non-essential cookies' only necessary cookies providing core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility will be enabled. Click 'Find out more' for information on how to change your cookie settings.

© 2015 German Botanical Society and The Royal Botanical Society of the Netherlands. Anthropogenic activities have resulted in cyanide (CN) contamination of both soil and water in many areas of the globe. While plants possess a detoxification pathway that serves to degrade endogenously generated CN, this system is readily overwhelmed, limiting the use of plants in bioremediation. Genetic engineering of additional CN degradation pathways in plants is one potential strategy to increase their tolerance to CN. Here we show that heterologous expression of microbial nitrilase enzymes targeted to the mitochondria increases CN tolerance in Arabidopsis. Root length in seedlings expressing either a CN dihydratase from Bacillus pumilis or a CN hydratase from Neurospora crassa was increased by 45% relative in wild-type plants in the presence of 50 μm KCN. We also demonstrate that in contrast to its strong inhibitory effects on seedling establishment, seed germination of the Col-0 ecotype of Arabidopsis is unaffected by CN.

Original publication

DOI

10.1111/plb.12323

Type

Journal article

Journal

Plant Biology

Publication Date

01/01/2015

Volume

17

Pages

922 - 926