Hi Janet Paterson, I two of the lemon geranium plants in my planter outside and when I water them the lemon sent is real strong and nice. Janice ----- Original Message ----- From: janet paterson <[log in to unmask]> To: <[log in to unmask]> Sent: Friday, July 16, 1999 8:26 AM Subject: NEWS: NPD: Lowly geranium feasts on toxins: Scientists try to patent lemon-scented marvel > Lowly geranium feasts on toxins: > Scientists try to patent lemon-scented marvel > > Friday, July 16, 1999 - Researchers at the University of Guelph have > applied for an international patent on lemon-scented geraniums, believing > they are pollution-eating plants that could clean the environment and > restore a toxic land patch to a Garden of Eden. > > Their research has found that the familiar flowering plant has an uncanny > ability to absorb metal and organic pollutants which could help to detoxify > everything from abandoned gas station sites to old mining lands. > > They may also be of particular benefit to developing countries whose crop > yields suffer because of naturally occurring high metal content in their > soils. > > Plant biologist Praveen Saxena and his team are now hurrying to find the > genes that endow the lemon-scented geranium with its rare ability to > tolerate and absorb pollutants so they might, through genetic engineering, > enhance those traits. And although they have not yet discovered those > genes, they have requested in the patent application filed last year that > their claim include any genetically modified form of the lemon-scented > geranium that would be used to detoxify the environment. > > Patents have been issued on other plants, Dr. Saxena said. But the issue of > laying an ownership claim over a natural life form remains a controversial > area of biotechnology. This is partly because critics argue that patents > often make new agricultural technology unaffordable to farmers who could > benefit most from it. > > Stephanie De Grandis, associate director of Guelph's business development > office, explained that the patent would not be on the plant, but on the > process of using the plant for cleaning up contaminated soil, called > phytoremediation. > > "Anyone who went out to use these geraniums for phytoremediation would have > to come and talk to us [if the patent is granted]," Dr. De Grandis said, > adding that anyone who didn't could face legal action. > > After planting the scented geraniums in contaminated soil samples from an > undisclosed site in Canada and conducting a similar trial at a contaminated > Hamilton location, the researchers found that the plants cleaned up toxic > soil and flourished in it. > > "With other methods to get rid of toxic metals in the soil, the soil is > left clean, but it's useless," Dr. Saxena said. But by planting > lemon-scented geraniums to clean the soil, the same land could later be > used for farming, he added. > > Around the world, several different research groups are searching for > metal-resistant genes in the few plant varieties that can thrive in > metal-rich soils. Some, according to an article published today in Science, > are trying to insert metal-resistant genes from other organisms, such as > bacteria, into the DNA of crop plants to make transgenic plants that would > be metal-resistant. Such a project is under way at the University of > Sasketchewan. > > Metals are a key enemy of plant growth and result in stunted plants and > poor harvests in the Southeastern United States, Central and South America, > North Africa and parts of India and China. > > While some sites have natural metal contaminants, others have been polluted > by industry. > > Wilf Keller, research director of the federal government's Plant > Biotechnology Institute in Saskatoon, said a biological solution to clean > up the "thousands" of contaminated sites in North America would be the most > environmentally friendly option. > > He noted that members of the cabbage family can grow in lead-contaminated > soil, and that rubber trees in the South Pacific can absorb so much nickel > from the ground that their sap turns blue. But, he said, the scented > geraniums -- formally known as Pelargonium sp. Frensham -- are unusual > because of their absorption capabilities and their ability to turn > contaminated soil into arable land. > > "I think this research has to be treated as a significant invention . . . > or a discovery. It will offer significant improvements for the > environment," Dr. Keller said. > > He acknowledged that there is always the possibility for debate about the > legitimacy of a proprietary patent over the biological function of a plant > as an "invention." But he noted that the researchers discovered the plant's > environmental usefulness. > > The University of Guelph researchers suspect that scented geraniums may be > the only known plant species that has the ability to absorb both > multi-metal and organic chemical contaminants, anything from cadmium to > hydrocarbons. > > Dr. Saxena has reported that the geraniums can soak up as much as 3,300 > milligrams of cadmium, 18,700 mg of lead, 6,400 mg of nickel and 650 mg of > copper for every kilogram of plant tissue in two weeks. The plants do not > exhibit any sign of toxic stress. > > > Carolyn Abraham > The Globe and Mail > <http://www.GlobeandMail.ca/gam/Science/19990716/UPLANN.html> > > janet paterson > 52 now / 41 dx / 37 onset > snail-mail: PO Box 171 Almonte Ontario K0A 1A0 Canada > website: a new voice <http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Village/6263/> > e-mail: <[log in to unmask]> >