Publication Date:
2015-09-05
Description:
The explosive 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) is a highly toxic and persistent environmental pollutant. Due to the scale of affected areas, one of the most cost-effective and environmentally friendly means of removing explosives pollution could be the use of plants. However, mechanisms of TNT phytotoxicity have been elusive. Here, we reveal that phytotoxicity is caused by reduction of TNT in the mitochondria, forming a nitro radical that reacts with atmospheric oxygen, generating reactive superoxide. The reaction is catalyzed by monodehydroascorbate reductase 6 (MDHAR6), with Arabidopsis deficient in MDHAR6 displaying enhanced TNT tolerance. This discovery will contribute toward the remediation of contaminated sites. Moreover, in an environment of increasing herbicide resistance, with a shortage in new herbicide classes, our findings reveal MDHAR6 as a valuable plant-specific target.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Johnston, Emily J -- Rylott, Elizabeth L -- Beynon, Emily -- Lorenz, Astrid -- Chechik, Victor -- Bruce, Neil C -- Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council/United Kingdom -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Sep 4;349(6252):1072-5. doi: 10.1126/science.aab3472.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Centre for Novel Agricultural Products, Department of Biology, University of York, York YO10 5DD, UK. ; Centre for Novel Agricultural Products, Department of Biology, University of York, York YO10 5DD, UK. liz.rylott@york.ac.uk neil.bruce@york.ac.uk. ; Department of Chemistry, University of York, York YO10 5DD, UK.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26339024" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉
Keywords:
Air Pollutants/chemistry/metabolism/*toxicity
;
Arabidopsis/*drug effects/*enzymology
;
Arabidopsis Proteins/genetics/*metabolism
;
*Environmental Restoration and Remediation
;
Explosive Agents/metabolism/*toxicity
;
Frameshift Mutation
;
Herbicide Resistance/genetics
;
Herbicides/chemistry/metabolism/pharmacology
;
Mitochondria/enzymology
;
NADH, NADPH Oxidoreductases/genetics/*metabolism
;
Plastids/enzymology
;
Stress, Physiological/genetics/physiology
;
Superoxides/metabolism
;
Trinitrotoluene/chemistry/metabolism/*toxicity
Print ISSN:
0036-8075
Electronic ISSN:
1095-9203
Topics:
Biology
,
Chemistry and Pharmacology
,
Computer Science
,
Medicine
,
Natural Sciences in General
,
Physics
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