Hybrids of Poplars Found Able to Decontaminate Soil, Water

Laboratory-designed hybrids of the fast-growing poplar tree have been found to act like 100-foot straws that suck contamination from soil and ground water and release it into the air in a safe form. Tests show that the process, known as phytoremediation, is inexpensive and might work at least as well as high-tech soil roasting and ground water filtering, while keeping the site green and attractive.

Researchers at the University of Georgia report in the October issue of Nature Biotechnology that they took a gene from a strain of bacterium that enables it to tolerate high levels of ionic mercury, a highly toxic version of the heavy metal, and inserted it into the genetic code of the yellow poplar. The gene allows the poplar to convert the mercury into a less toxic form.

Compiled by Times medical writer Thomas H. Maugh II