[CPEO-MEF] Plants may help find bomb waste

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Florida
THE GAINESVILLE SUN
Plants may help find bomb waste
By GREG C. BRUNO
Sun staff writer

UF researchers seek to develop genetically altered plants to be used in
detecting bomb contamination in soil.

enetically modified plants may one day help clear former military sites
of unexploded weapons and toxic materials, new research by a team of
University of Florida scientists suggests.

A three-year project, funded by a $2.3 million U.S. Department of
Defense contract, is seeking to develop genetically modified plants and
bacteria to detect chemicals leached from explosives in the ground.

William Gurley, a professor of microbiology and cell science at UF and
co-investigator on the project, said his team's research is still in its
preliminary stages. When completed, the technology will help
environmentalists map and identify areas where contamination is present.

"We're trying to ultimately enable plants to perceive explosive
compounds that might be in the soil," Gurley said. Currently, "there are
not really any good ways to search for this."

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