Engineering expression of polyphosphate confers cadmium resistance in tobacco

Abstract

The feasibility of transgenic tobacco, genetically engineered to express bacterial polyphosphate (polyP) for phytoremediation of cadmium pollution was examined. The transgenic tobacco showed more resistance to Cd2+ and accumulated more Cd2+ than its wild-type progenitors. These results suggest that polyP has abilities to reduce Cd2+ toxicity, probably via a chelation mechanism, and to accumulate cadmium in the transgenic tobacco. Based on the results obtained in this study, polyP-mediated Cd2+ accumulation may serve as a useful strategy for Cd2+ phytoremediation.