Zhang Chang;Feng Yao;Liu Yuan-wang;Chang Hui-qing;Li Zhao-jun;Xue Jian-ming

Henan Univ Sci & Technol, Luoyang 471003, Peoples R China;Chinese Acad Agr Sci, Key Lab Plant Nutr & Fertilizer, China New Zealand Joint Lab Soil Mol Ecol, Inst Agr Resources & Reg Planning,Minist Agr, Beijing 100081, Peoples R China;Scion, Christchurch 29237, New Zealand

organic pollutants;plant;uptake;cytotoxicity

Organic pollutants, such as polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), antibiotics, herbicides, and bisphenol A (BPA), are commonly found in agricultural environments. They are released into the environment as a result of their use for human health purposes and farm management activities, and are often discharged as waste-water effluents. Most of these organic pollutants are taken up by plants through roots and leaves, and when they enter the tissue, they cause serious damage to the plants. Although the toxicity of organic pollutants to plants, especially to plant cells, has been intensively studied, a systematic review of these studies is lacking. Here we review researches on the toxicity of organic pollutants, their uptake, and translocation in plants. Our objective is to assemble existing knowledge concerning the interaction of organic pollutants with plants, which should be useful for the development of plant-based systems for removing pollutants from aquatic and agricultural environments.