US EPA

8771308 

Journal Article 

How does the Cucurbitaceae family take up organic pollutants (POPs, PAHs, and PPCPs)? 

Fujita, K; Inui, H 

2021 

1 

Reviews in Environmental Science and Biotechnology
ISSN: 1569-1705
EISSN: 1572-9826 

20 

3 

751-779 

10.1007/s11157-021-09578-w 

WOS:000667119200001 

http://WOS:000667119200001
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Crop contamination with organic pollutants is an important food safety concern. Since organic pollutants are highly toxic, human consumption of contaminated crops can harm human health. Thus, understanding the mechanisms of how organic pollutants are accumulated in crop plants can aid the development of strategies for safer crop production. It is well known that the Cucurbitaceae family accumulates organic pollutants in its fruits at high concentrations. Previous studies have described the organic pollutant-uptake mechanisms of the Cucurbitaceae family. However, an integrated understanding of organic pollutant uptake by Cucurbitaceae is still lacking. In this review, we discuss the uptake mechanisms from the perspective of plant molecular biology. We clearly show that major latex-like proteins identified from the Cucurbitaceae family play a crucial role in the uptake of organic pollutants. This is the first review to describe the mechanisms underlying the accumulation of organic pollutants in the Cucurbitaceae family across the entire uptake pathway. 

Crop contamination; Cucurbitaceae family; Major latex-like proteins; Organic pollutants