Pollution Remediation by Way of Using Genetically Modified Plants (GMPs)

As the process of man’s intervention on the environment is accelerated and enhances the range of industrial activities and the use of chemical agents to improve the yield of agricultural crops, pollution becomes an increasingly evident global problem that challenges the humanity and is difficult to solve. Not only human health is negatively affected but also all the ecosystem, involving other forms of life, soil, water, air, etc. In order to propose solutions to deal with heavy metals, explosives, industrial solvents, herbicides, and related pollutants, the recombinant DNA technology is a very important tool. It allows the development of transgenic organism able to eliminate the toxic residues from the environment. Transgenic plants deserve to be highlighted once their capacity to contribute can surpass the one offered by microorganisms in the uptake, transforming and limiting the toxicity of these contaminants being also a cost-effective strategy. This chapter aims to briefly review phytoremediation to remove, transform, or stabilize contaminants and its relevance to deal with persistent pollution capable of severely damaging life on earth.