Improving phytoremediation through biotechnology.

Sharon Doty received a BS degree in genetics from the University of California, Davis (1989), and a PhD in Microbiology from the University of Washington (1995). She did postdoctoral research in plant biochemistry (UW). Her current position is assistant professor in the College of Forest Resources, UW. Her research program covers three main areas: phytoremediation, the use of plants for removing environmental pollutants; bioenergy, specifically the use of non-food plants; and biological nitrogen fixation in non-legume plants. Phytoremediation of contaminated soils offers an environmentally friendly, cost effective, and carbon neutral approach for the clean up of toxic pollutants in the environment. Plants with abilities to hyperaccummulate heavy metals, uptake volatile organic compounds, and sequester pollutants have been proposed as a solution to the treatment of toxic contamination in situ. However, the use of plant-based technologies has a number of limitations, primarily due to the fact that plants are autotrophs and not ideally suited for the metabolism and breakdown of organic compounds. One of the major limitations with current phytoremediation is the often slow time-scale for remediation to acceptable levels and also toxicity to the plants themselves. To some extent, this can be addressed through interactions with the natural micro flora associated with plants; both endophytic bacteria and rhizosphere bacteria have been shown to have the potential to degrade organic compounds in association with plants.