A plant genetically modified that accumulates Pb is especially promising for phytoremediation (2003), by Carmina Gisbert et al

In 2003, Carmina Gisbert and her research team produced a tobacco plant that could remove more lead from soil than normal tobacco plants. To do so, they inserted a gene from wheat plants that produces phytochelatin synthase into a shrub tobacco plant (Nicotiana glauca [2]) to increase N. glauca's absorption and tolerance of toxic metals, particularly lead. Gisbert and her team aimed to genetically modify a plant so that it could be used for phytoremediation?using plants to remove toxic substances from the soil. Scientists have identified phytoremediation as an effective and efficient process to improve human health and reproductive health in contaminated areas. Metals like mercury and lead can cause birth defects [3] during human development like cognitive impairment, cerebral palsy, deafness, tremors, and blindness.