Prosopis juliflora: A Potential Plant for Mining of Genes for Genetic Engineering to Enhance Phytoremediation of Metals

Abstract Heavy metal pollution has become one of the most serious environmental problems of today. Heavy metals are deposited in topsoils and then migrate to groundwater or are taken up by plants thereby affecting their growth and productivity. Later these heavy metals may also enter humans through the food chain, thus causing cancer, renal dysfunction, etc. Some plants, known as hyperaccumulators, have the potential to detoxify these heavy metals and can survive extreme metal stress environment. Phytoremediation uses this ability of plants to remove the heavy metal contaminants from the soil. The process of genetic engineering improves the phytoremediating potential of the plants.Unfortunately, though many transgenic plants with increased metal uptake have been generated over the years, none have reached the field level. Prosopis juliflora , a highly invasive species belonging to Fabaceae family is a commonly occurring example of a plant which is capable of accumulating high concentrations of heavy metal in its shoots. This chapter illustrates the phytoremediating potential of P. juliflora and the benefits of considering the plant as an ideal source for mining of genes for phytoremediation.