Using Synthetic Biology to make golden plants for Valentine’s Day

Abstract: Platinum group metals and gold are used in an ever-expanding array of technologies and demand is spiralling upwards. But these elements are rare, exist in low concentrations and are expensive to mine. Phytoextraction, the use of plants to take up and re-concentrate metals from waste sources has been mooted as a promising technique for decades. Why hasn’t it taken off? Major limitations include low metal uptake rates and subsequent processing costs. This talk will i) present data on currently achievable metal concentrations in a number of plant species, ii) discuss recent, novel synthetic biology-based mechanisms to address these limitations and iii) identify target metal concentrations for economically viable phytomining.