4. Future developments

Phytoremediation research is currently focusing on the rhizospheric factors and mechanisms that control pollutant availability, and the processes needed to control them. It also aims to understand the (eco)physiological and biomolecular determinants of contaminant tolerance by the plant and associated microflora. One of the applied goals is to use screening of wild populations to produce plant-bacteria-fungus associations with enhanced survival and establishment capacities in contaminated environments hostile to most living organisms. We are also seeking to better describe the mechanisms by which pollutants (especially trace elements) are taken up and accumulated by plants, with the aim of using genetic modification to produce cultivars improved for phytoextraction. More conventional genetic improvement approaches, using screening of wild populations or agricultural cultivars, and improvement...