RESOLUTION

International Symposium
"Biochemical interactions of microorganisms and plants with technogenic environmental pollutants"
Saratov, Russia, 28-30 July, 2003.

      The symposium was organized and held by the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) Institute of Biochemistry and Physiology of Plants and Microorganisms (Saratov, Russia). It was supported by the RAS Division of Biological Sciences, the RAS Council for Microbiology, and the All-Russia Research Institute for Agricultural Microbiology of the Russian Academy of Agricultural Sciences (St. Petersburg).
     The symposium aimed to strengthen contacts among workers in the field, as well as to discuss the plant-microbial interaction mechanisms under conditions of man-made pollution and the use of phytoremediation for the cleanup of environmental constituents.
     The meeting attracted about 60 scientists from six countries: United States, Germany, Denmark, India, Argentina, and Russia (Moscow, Perm, Pushchino, Serpukhov, Krasnodar, etc.). There was a program of 13 oral and 15 poster presentations addressed to:

  • Degradation of oil hydrocarbons, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and polychlorinated biphenyls by rhizosperic bacteria.
  • Plant-bacterial interactions under conditions of oil pollution and in the presence of metals, arsenic, uranium, and other pollutants.
  • Interaction and signaling in the wheat-Azospirillum symbiosis.
  • Role of phytohormone synthesis in phytoremediation.
  • Plant-growth-promoting activity of nitrogen fixers.
  • Interaction of aquatic plants with microorganisms and pollutants.
  • Use of plants for wastewater cleanup.
  • Computer simulation of sorption processes in the rhizosphere.
  • Determination of the degradative potential of higher and lower fungi.



     During the round-table discussion, it was pointed out that there has been inadequate research effort investigating the mechanisms of pollutant detoxification by plant-microbial interactions. Yet, this type of research is extremely important, because knowledge of the basic principles of these phenomena allows one not only to come closer to the understanding of spontaneous processes of environmental pollutant transformation but also to develop predictable and really effective technologies of phytoremediation - one of the most effective and economical biotechnologies currently existing for the cleanup of polluted areas. In this connection, the symposium attendees identified and stressed the need for urgent solution of the following pressing problems in the area:



  • Intensification of research on the basic principles of pollutant degradation by plants, microorganisms, and their consortia.
  • Investigation of the role of partners in plant-microbial associations.
  • Creation of novel plant-microbial complexes on the basis of current advances in molecular biology.
  • Monitoring and degradation of toxicants formed by aquatic microorganisms and plants.
  • Development of bioindicators.
  • Improvement of methodological approaches to studying environmental transformation of pollutants.
  • Putting of basic-research results into practice.

     The symposium attendees voiced their approval of the meeting. They recommended that a Meeting Report be sent to a leading foreign or Russian journal and that the possibility be considered of publishing the proceedings of the symposium.     In closing the meeting, the decision was made to hold a similar symposium in two or three years.

Dr. O.V. Turkovskaya, D.Sc. (Biol.)
Professor V.V. Ignatov, D.Sc. (Biol.)
Symposium Organizers