Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
FutureProspects
Further.studies.building.on.the.genomic.and.biochemical.studies.described.
earlier. may. reveal. key. genes. that. trigger. the. cascade. of. responses. that.
together. provide. Se. tolerance. and. accumulation. in. model. plants. and.
hyperaccumulators.. These. studies. may. also. reveal. genes. that. encode. spe-
ciic.transporters.of.selenocompounds.into.and.within.hyperaccumulators..
These.key.genes.will.be.very.interesting.candidates.for.overexpression.stud-
ies,. with. the. potential. of. transferring. the. complete. Se. hyperaccumulator.
proile.into.high-biomass.crop.species.
Se.accumulation.in.plants.appears.to.have.important.ecological.implications..
More.research.is.needed.on.the.role.microbes.play.in.plant.Se.uptake.and.vola-
tilization,.and.the.movement.of.Se.through.the.food.chain.via.Se.hyperaccu-
mulators.or.Se-fortiied.crop.plants..The.role.of.Se.in.belowground.ecological.
interactions.with.microbes.and.other.organisms.is.also.a.relatively.unexplored.
area.. Plant. Se. may. affect. root-microbe. interactions. and. may. protect. plants.
from. root-feeding. herbivores.. Moreover,. selenocompounds. released. from.
hyperaccumulator.roots.may.affect.surrounding.vegetation..The.effects.of.Se.
on.pollination.ecology.will.also.be.an.interesting.ield.of.further.study.
Together,. better. insight. into. the. processes. involved. in. plant. metabolism.
of.Se,.the.limiting.factors.involved,.the.contributions.of.ecological.partners,.
and. the. effects. of. Se. on. ecological. partners. are. all. useful. in. order. to. mini-
mize. any. potential. harmful. effects.of. Se. while. beneiting. from. the. positive.
effects. of. plant. Se. on. animal. and. human. health.. The. capacity. of. plants. to.
accumulate. and. volatilize. Se. will. be. very. useful. for. the. phytoremediation.
of. Se-contaminated. soils. and. waters. (Bañuelos. et. al.. 2002).. When. plant. Se.
accumulation. is. managed. well,. plants. offer. an. eficient. and. cost-effective.
means.to.remove.Se.from.the.environment..Plants.are.also.an.effective.source.
of.dietary.Se,.and.therefore,.Se-enriched.plant.material.from.phytoremedia-
tion. or. other. sources. may. be. considered. fortiied. food.. After. being. grown.
on. Se-contaminated. soil. or. being. irrigated. with. Se-contaminated. water,.
the.Se-laden.plant.material.may.be.used.as.a.feed.supplement.for.livestock,.
and/or.as.a.biofuel..The.potential.of.this.strategy.may.be.further.enhanced.by.
the.use.of.selected.transgenic.lines..Of.course.the.use.of.any.Se-accumulating.
wild-type.or.transgenic.plants.should.be.accompanied.by.careful.risk.assess-
ment,.to.avoid.escape.of.transgenes.and.to.minimize.any.adverse.ecological.
effects.of.plant-accumulated.Se.
Acknowledgment
National.Science.Foundation.grant.#.IOS-0817748.to.EAHPS.supported.the.
writing.of.this.chapter.
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