Abstract
It has been found that plants are capable of dehalogenating and metabolizing various solvents, but the full extend of the potential for this process is still being explored. Poplars have long been utilized due to their high water uptake rates, but the usage of native vegetation is just starting to be explored. Many native plants such as loblolly pine, sycamore and sweet gum may be excellent alternative plants to use in areas where poplar does not thrive and annual plants such as pokeweed and commercial tobacco may be useful for sites where trees would not thrive. Genetic engineering gives the potential of transferring plant genes from high-rate degraders into plants that may not have the same degradation potential, but will prosper in geographic areas where the high-rate degraders would fail. Work is ongoing to transition this technology into the field, starting with controlled field trials.
