230 Environmental Biotechnology
Developments in the use of transgenic plants for bioremediation have been
reviewed (Francovaet al. 2001).
New products from plants
The rape plant,Arabidopsis thaliahas become a popular choice for the production
of recombinant species. One such recombinant is a rape plant, the fatty acid com-
position in the seed of which has been modified. It now produces triacylglycerols
containing elevated levels of trierucinic acid suitable for use in the polymer indus-
try (Broughet al. 1996) and, in a separate project, polyhydroxybutyrate suitable
for the production of biodegradable plastics (Hanley, Slabas and Elborough 2000).
Synthesis of the copolymer poly(3-hydroxybutyrate –co– 3-hydroxyvalerate)
byArabidopsis, is another example of the application ofAgrobacterium tume-
facienstechnology and the use of the 35S promoter from Cauliflower Mosaic
Virus (Slateret al. 1999). This copolymer can be produced by bacterial fer-
mentation, but due to cost considerations, it is normally synthesised chemically.
This example is discussed further in Chapter 10 under the umbrella of ‘clean’
technology. Progress in this field has been reviewed recently (Snell and Peo-
ples 2002).
Closing Remarks
It is something of an irony that genetic engineering is virtually synonymous with
biotechnology. The advances in this field have been enormous and, in many areas,
are of singularly great importance, yet its impact has been much less dramatic
when considering the purely environmental aspects. So much of what has been
discussed in this chapter has not managed to make the wholesale transition into
mainstream commercial activity and whether it ever will still remains to be seen.
Unquestionably, GE will continue to play a definitive role in the future develop-
ment of the biological sciences; its position in respect of practical environmental
biotechnology is, perhaps, much less clear at this point.
References
Bajrovic, K., Erdag, B., Atalay, E.O. and Cirakoclu, B. (2001) Full resistance to
Tobacco Mosaic Virus infection conferred by the transgenic expression of a
recombinant antibody in tobacco,Biotechnology and Biotechnological Equip-
ment, 15 : 21–7.
Beggs, J.D. (1981) Gene cloning in yeast,Genetic Engineering 2(ed. William-
son, R.) 175–203, Academic Press, London.
Bialy, H. (1997) Comment–biotechnology, bioremediation, and blue genes,
Nature Biotechnology, 15 : 110.