Expression of Nanobody in Arabidopsis thaliana Strengthens the Plant
Absorption Capacity of Triclosan from Growth Media
Abstract
Triclosan (TCS) is a broad-spectrum antimicrobial disinfectant widely
used in pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs). Due to the
extensive usage of PPCPs, TCS inevitably entered the environment and
posed harmful effects on the ecosystem. Phytoremediation is an
attractive approach to remove TCS from the environment. Genetic
engineering of plants can be employed to strengthen phytoremediation
capacity. In this study, a gene of a nanobody specific to TCS was
transformed into Arabidopsis thaliana ( A.
thaliana) to enhance the plant absorption of TCS. Two transgenic lines,
the T-S-C line with nanobody expression throughout the plant and the
T-S-P line with nanobody expression dominant in the roots, were
constructed. The expression of nanobody in A. thaliana alleviated
the phytotoxicity of TCS. T-S-C and T-S-P exhibited obviously stronger
tolerance to TCS toxicity than the wild type (WT), in either a solid
medium system or a hydroponics system. Under the stress of TCS, the
seedlings of both transgenic plants exhibited an increase of root length
and fresh weight compared to those of WT. Moreover, in the presence of
TCS, the activities of superoxide dismutase, peroxidase, catalase, and
glutathione in transgenic plants were higher than those in WT. The
concentration of TCS absorbed by T-S-C and T-S-P from the solid medium
system increased by 50.0% and 24.1%, and from the hydroponics system
increased by 55.6% and 38.0%, respectively, compared to those absorbed
by WT. This study provides a proof of principle that transforming
nanobodies into plants represents a novel technology to improve the
efficiency of phytoremediation for environmental pollutants.