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| Uptake and Metabolism of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons by Tissue Cultures of Marine Seaweeds |
| Current Support: NOAA / Oregon
Sea Grant Program (begins 2005) (Oregon Sea Grant Program homepage) |
| Graduate Students: To be announced |
| There are significant
environmental issues associated with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH)
contamination of the marine environment. The overall goal of this proposed research project
is to characterize the intrinsic capacity of tissue cultures of marine seaweeds
to take up and metabolize polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) from seawater.
The proposed research plan has three objectives: 1) Determine the
uptake kinetics of four PAH compounds (naphthalene, phenanthrene,
pyrene, benzo(a)pyrene)
from seawater by axenic tissue cultures of two
seaweeds known to contain oxidation and/or conjugation enzymes: the green alga Acrosiphonia coalita, and the red alga Portieria hornemannii;
2) Identify the biological oxidation
products of PAH metabolism and the enzymes responsible for these transformations;
3) Develop a model for PAH metabolism in marine seaweeds, looking for common
metabolic themes. |
| Scientific information
the intrinsic capacity of seaweeds in tissue culture to degrade PAH compounds
has broader impacts in two areas. First,
research outcomes will support the development of new bioremediation technologies
that use of seaweed tissue cultures in engineered systems to remove organic
contaminants from the marine environment. Second, since seaweeds constitute a large class
of macrophytic organisms in near-shore marine
waters, research outcomes can be used to augment ecological and environmental
assessment studies for the biological fate of PAH in the marine environment. |