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Purdue University researchers are collaborating with Chrysler LLC in a project to use poplar trees to eliminate pollutants from a contaminated site in north-central Indiana.
Researchers plan this summer to plant ?EUR??,,????'?????< Purdue Associate Professor Richard Meilan is working to transform one variety of poplar suited to Indiana?EUR??,,????'?????< ?EUR??,,????'?????< The research basis for this hypothesis is a study led by University of Washington Professors Stuart Strand and Sharon Doty, published in the October 2007 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (?EUR??,,????'?????<). Prof. Meilan was one of the co-authors. The researchers inserted a gene in the poplars that encodes an enzyme capable of breaking down TCE and a variety of other environmental pollutants, including chloroform, benzene, vinyl chloride and carbon tetrachloride. The study found poplar cuttings removed 90 percent of the TCE within a hydroponic solution in one week. The engineered trees also took up and metabolized the chemical 100 times faster than unaltered hybrid poplars, which have a limited ability to remove and degrade the contaminant on their own. The transgenic poplars also absorbed TCE vapors through their leaves before metabolizing the chemical. Tree cuttings removed 79 percent of the airborne TCE from a chamber within one week. This suggests the hybrid poplars could one day help mitigate air and water pollution. The poplars will be tested this summer to remove TCE from a 1960s oil-storage site called Peter?EUR??,,????'?????< Planting transgenic trees is controversial. There are concerns the genes might ?EUR??,,????'?????< ?EUR??,,????'?????< Prof. Meilan has applied for a permit from the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service to grow the transgenic poplars outside the laboratory setting. The researchers also have a $1.3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to investigate altering the composition of poplar lignin, which provides rigidity to the plant cell wall by binding to strands of cellulose. This cellulose, a complex sugar, can be converted to ethanol.
Purdue Associate Professor Richard Meilan is working to transform one variety of poplar suited to Indiana?EUR??,,????'?????<
?EUR??,,????'?????<
The research basis for this hypothesis is a study led by University of Washington Professors Stuart Strand and Sharon Doty, published in the October 2007 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (?EUR??,,????'?????<). Prof. Meilan was one of the co-authors. The researchers inserted a gene in the poplars that encodes an enzyme capable of breaking down TCE and a variety of other environmental pollutants, including chloroform, benzene, vinyl chloride and carbon tetrachloride. The study found poplar cuttings removed 90 percent of the TCE within a hydroponic solution in one week. The engineered trees also took up and metabolized the chemical 100 times faster than unaltered hybrid poplars, which have a limited ability to remove and degrade the contaminant on their own. The transgenic poplars also absorbed TCE vapors through their leaves before metabolizing the chemical. Tree cuttings removed 79 percent of the airborne TCE from a chamber within one week. This suggests the hybrid poplars could one day help mitigate air and water pollution.
The poplars will be tested this summer to remove TCE from a 1960s oil-storage site called Peter?EUR??,,????'?????<
Planting transgenic trees is controversial. There are concerns the genes might ?EUR??,,????'?????<
Prof. Meilan has applied for a permit from the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service to grow the transgenic poplars outside the laboratory setting.
The researchers also have a $1.3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to investigate altering the composition of poplar lignin, which provides rigidity to the plant cell wall by binding to strands of cellulose. This cellulose, a complex sugar, can be converted to ethanol.
Francisco Uviña, University of New Mexico
Hardscape Oasis in Litchfield Park
Ash Nochian, Ph.D. Landscape Architect
November 12th, 2025
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