CannaWizard's (AMC) Lounge

cannawizard

Well-Known Member


Nikola Tesla - The Forgotten Father of Today & Tomorrow
Plasma International works with high frequencies and high voltages, and thus we are frequently referencing the theories of the original “mad scientist” Nikola Tesla and the thoughts of his best friend, Mark Twain.



The life and work of Nikola Tesla is in the focus of interest above all for his ingenuity and contribution to world science and engineering. Had the alternating electric current system been the only thing he ever invented, the name of Nikola Tesla would still remain permanently inscribed on the list of the most renowned people whose work has been of pivotal importance for the development of civilization.
Moreover, knowing that Tesla invented or theoretically anticipated almost all technical devices people are using today, with which he helped usher in the Second Industrial Revolution, his role becomes immeasurable.
Tesla wrote more than 1800 patents, most now “missing”. See 135 Tesla patents. Tesla gave us alternating current and the first hydro-electric dam powered from Niagara Falls When Nikola Tesla discovered the electron, he wrote to J.J. Thomson in 1891 saying his experiments prove the existence of charged particles ("small charged balls"). After Tesla died in 1943 the Supreme Court of the USA overturned Marconi's patent of modern radio in favour of Nikola Tesla. The Truth.




“Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction”.
That was a quote from Albert Einstein pictured here with Tesla. Tesla had nothing but contempt for the "physics" of Einstein. He absolutely believed in the ether and the possibility of taking electricity out of this ether without splitting the atom and causing dangerous radiation. Tesla didn't think about splitting these atoms to obtain enormous power in such a potentially hazardous manner.
He knew that his system of wireless transmission harnessed to Niagara Falls was a safe template to be copied again and again to provide all the safe, clean power that was necessary to run the modern industrial world.
At the beginning of the war, the US government desperately searched for a way to detect German submarines. Thomas Edison was put in charge of the search and when Tesla proposed the use of energy waves ( what we know today as radar) to detect these ships, Edison rejected Tesla's idea as completely ludicrous.

A Few of Tesla’s Inventions:
1. Tesla Coil & auto ignition system
2. AC induction engine (no carbon brushes)
3. Solar powered engines
4. Transmitting Power without Wires (called WiTriciity in 2007)
5. Seeing by Telephone and wirelessly (TV & Radio)
6. A Means of Employing Electricity as a Fertiliser
7. Fluorescent Lighting & neon lights.
8. Specialized lighting and a precursor to the X-ray machine
9. Vertical Take Off and Landing (VTOL) aircraft
10. Terrestrial Stationary Waves
11. Robotics
12. Meters
13. Valvular Conduit
14. Earthquake Machine
15. Magnifying transmitter
16. Laser
17. Death Rays
18. Thermo-Electric Power
19. X-Ray machine
20. Radar
21. Electrotherapeutics and Biotronics
22. Computing Logic Circuits/Remote Control/Communications
23. Bladeless Turbine
24. Solar Tower


Worlds First Hydro-Electric Powerhouse

At Niagra Falls, Tesla was the first to successfully harness the mechanical energy of flowing water. Change it to electrical energy, and distribute it to distant homes and industries. His revolutionary model set the standard for hydroelectric power as we know it to day. Since his childhood, Tesla had dreamed of harnessing the power of the great natural wonder. And in late 1893, his dream became a reality, when Westinghouse was awarded the contract to create the powerhouse. It was the most likely power source for Tesla's wirelessly powered car.... think about that..
In the past NASA used a 12 mile long wire, it charged freely from the potential electricity in the area above the magnetosphere. Tesla knew this, and NASA used his research to launch STS 75.. The tether incident of STS 75 launched in 1997 proved the fact that electricity can be produced in abundance for free, unexpectedly it produced many, many more times the voltage than was originally expected, and calculated. All this power was free energy, the technology was theorized by the man of light himself, Nicola Tesla.
"All matter comes from a primary substance, the luminiferous ether," stated Nikola Tesla. He sensed the universe was "composed of a symphony of alternating currents with the harmonies played on a vast range of octaves,". To explore the whole range of electrical vibration, he sensed, would bring him closer to an understanding of the cosmic symphony. Tesla understood that the cosmic symphony is resonance. Nothing exists in the Universe that does not have harmonic vibration.
Tesla Taps the Cosmos Tesla’s patents in this direction are based on alleged discovery by him that when cosmic rays or radiations are permitted to fall upon or impinge against an insulated conducting body P connected to one terminal of a condenser, such as C in Fig. 4, while the other terminal of the condenser is made by independent means to receive or carry away electricity, a current flows into the condenser so long as the insulated body P is exposed to such rays; so that an indefinite, yet measurable, accumulation of electrical energy in the condenser takes place. This energy, after a suitable time interval, during which the rays are allowed to act in the manner aforementioned, may manifest itself in a powerful discharge, which may be utilized for the operation or control of a mechanical or electrical device consisting of an instrument R, to be operated and a circuit-controlling device d (Fig. 4).


Tesla bases his theory on the fact that the earth is negatively charged with electricity and he considers same to act as a vast reservoir of such a current. By the action of cosmic rays on the plate P there is an accumulation of electrical energy in the condenser C. A feeble current is flows continuously into the condenser and in a short time it becomes charged to a relatively high potential, even to the point of rupturing the dielectric. This accumulated charge can then, of course, be used to actuate any device desired.
An illustration of a proposed form of apparatus which may be used in carrying out his discovery is referred to in Fig.4.

Centre to Tesla’s Letterhead was the antenna of Tesla's "World's radio station" which he constructed in Long Island in the vicinity of New York, it testifies his farsightedness and ingenuity. His idea was that this station, build in 1900 should by remote wireless control transmit throughout the world not only the news but music and photographs as well. However, that great plan could not be carried out because when it was realised free unmetered energy could be made available to everyone Tesla’s funding was terminated and his tower was destroyed. In 1960 the International Commission for Electrical Engineering, at its session in Philadelphia decided that the unit of magnetic induction is to be universally called “Tesla".



Tesla had a several friends including possibly only one scientist, Elmer Sperry and several non-scientific friends the closest of which was probably Mark Twain (Samuel Langhorne Clemens) pictured here with one of Tesla’s lamps in his laboratory.
The Problem Of Increasing Human Energy With Special References to the Harnessing of the Sun's Energy.

Electrotherapeutics - Nikola Tesla discovered that alternating currents of high frequency (10kHz or greater) could pass over the body without harm. In fact, levels of electrical energy that would prove fatal at a reduced frequency could be tolerated when the frequency was above l0kHz. During his lecture before the American Institute of Electrical Engineers (AIEE) at Columbia College on May 20, 1891, Tesla predicted that medical use would be made of this phenomenon. A year later, d'Arsonval independently reported similar observations on the physiological effects of high frequency currents before the Society of Biology in Paris. In early 1892, Tesla met d'Arsonval on a lecture tour of France where Tesla was pleasantly surprised to find that d'Arsonval used his oscillators to investigate the physiological effects of high frequency currents.
It is clear from Nikola Tesla's lectures and publications beginning in 1891 that he was the first to discover that radio frequency (rf) currents could be employed safely for therapeutic benefits, Tesla also suggested that rf currents could be used for other medical purposes--the sterilization of wounds, as an anesthesia, for stimulation of the skin, and to produce surgical incisions. As Patton H. McGinley, Ph.D., of the Emory Cancer Clinic has stated: History has not been kind to Tesla in the sense that the credit for all of the pioneering work in the field of electrotherapy has gone almost exclusively to d'Arsonval.

Logic Circuits/Remote Control/Communications.

Tesla was a pathfinder in rf communication and communication theory. In the early 1890s, Tesla entertained the scientist and general public alike with his demonstrations of high frequency, high voltage experiments. This type of electricity was virtually unheard of, indeed, even unimaginable, before Tesla developed the Tesla coil and demonstrated it before the IEE at an 1891 lecture in London, England.
Tesla's experiments with high frequency, high voltage electricity continued throughout the decade. During this period, he invented several types of lights based on this unique power source. In fact, he utilized fluorescent lighting in his laboratory thirty years before it was to be in general use in industry. Perhaps it is because of these experiments, Tesla believed that wireless power was possible!
In 1898, at Madison Square Gardens he publicly demonstrated a remote control submersible boat. This clearly established that Tesla was a man years-decades-ahead of conventional science and technology! In this amazing feat of engineering, he incorporated the use AND gates (logic circuits), digital communication, electromechanical interfacing (robotics), and radio--all of which were virtually undeveloped (and unimaginable) at the time! Despite the Madison Square demonstration, the Navy turned its back on Tesla's invention at the time because it was too advanced for them to comprehend.
Wireless Transmission of Power
Tesla considered his crowning achievement to be the wireless transmission of power at Colorado Springs in 1899. In 1900, upon his return to New York, Century Magazine published Tesla's article, The Problem of Increasing Human Energy which was amply illustrated with photos from Tesla's Colorado Springs lab.
Tesla's work in Colorado Springs allowed him to return to New York to pursue the next phase of the wireless technology development... the construction of a full scale transmitter at Wardenclyffe on Long Island. To do this required immense amounts of money... money which Tesla did not have at the time. To get the money, Tesla approached the one person in New York who would have the sums necessary... J. Pierpont Morgan.



In The Problem of Increasing Human Energy, Tesla laid out his vision for the evolution of power production and the furtherance of mankind. It is quite a remarkable philosophical work in that it gives us deep insight to Tesla's thought formation processes. Perhaps when J.P. Morgan read this fine essay, he realized how dangerous Tesla was to the status quo and decided to fund Tesla's work in order to control the direction that Tesla's work took.
Unfortunately, Tesla's funds ran out halfway through the project and the Morgan interests refused to further fund Tesla's work. Tesla was forced into bankruptcy and his beloved Wardenclyffe tower was destroyed on the pretext of "national security!" Bankrupted and cut off from funds, Tesla nevertheless continued his work in a new field... mechanical engineering.
Means of Employing Electricity as a Fertiliser
Not the least ingenious of Tesla's great schemes is was an invention to fertilise impoverished land by electricity. No longer would it be necessary for the farmer to spend half his year's receipts in purchasing fertilisers, he only had to buy an electric fertilizer machine of his own. Dumping a few loads of loose earth into the fertiliser machine, it comes out at the other end, ready to be spread over the surface of the impoverished ground, where it will insure for the following season the luxurious crop of the virgin soil.



The explanation which Tesla gave of just why so simple a piece of work should be productive of such wonderful results is not difficult to comprehend. " Everyone knows," said Tesla, " that the constituent of a fertiliser which makes the ground productive is its nitrogen. Everybody knows also that nitrogen forms four-fifths of the volume of the atmosphere above that piece of unfertile land. This being the case it occurred to me: 'Where is the sense in the farmer buying expensive nitrogen when he has it free of cost at his own door? All the agriculturist needs is some method by which he can separate some of this nitrogen from the atmosphere above the ground and place it on the surface.' And it was to discover this means that I set to work."
As far as the non-technical eye can perceive, the working model of the electric fertiliser consists of nothing but an upright copper cylinder with a removable top, with a spiral coil of wire running throughout the length of the cylinder. Through the bottom of the cylinder are two wires, which connect with a specially constructed dynamo. A quantity of loose earth, treated by a secret chemical preparation in liquid form, is shovelled into the cylinder, a high frequency electric current is passed through the confined atmosphere; the oxygen and hydrogen are thus expelled, and the nitrogen which remains is absorbed into the loose earth. There is thus produced as strong a fertiliser for a nominal price at home, rather than purchase at a large cost miles and miles away.

Tesla Bladeless Turbine
In an effort to return to profitability, Tesla developed a new type of bladeless pump and turbine that would have reduced the conventional pumps and turbines to the scrap heap. His initial work at the Watertown Power Station in New York indicated that his method could take advantage of the latent power of vaporization by using saturated steam. Later, he worked with Allis-Chalmers engineers in Milwaukee to develop the turbine. However, internal friction led to the disruption of the project and it was abandoned. Scientists today continue to scour through his notes. Many of his far-flung theories are just now being proven by our top scientists. For example, Tesla’s bladeless disk turbine engine, when coupled with modern materials, is proving to be the most efficient motor ever designed.


Teslas 1901 patented experiments with cryogenic liquids and electricity provide the foundation for modern superconductors. He talked about experiments that suggested particles with fractional charges of an electron - something that scientists in 1977 finally discovered - quarks!
When Albert Einstein turned the world upside down with his theory of relativity, the only one who opposed him was Tesla. According to Tesla, Einstein’s relativity wasn’t sufficiently relative. He proved to Einstein that he could create velocities that are much greater than the speed of light. He considered Constant C the basis, and not the fastest velocity in the universe.

HAARP
There are three things to think about Tesla when talking about this particular project. The first ... we should think of Tesla every time we look at a microwave oven; again the radiation frequency of the microwave oven and the concept of the microwave oven was Tesla's.
The second thing is, it is a frequency transformer. Tesla, with the Tesla coil, changes one frequency to another frequency. What we are doing up there, we're taking at 5 megahertz a frequency which radiates in the ground and we transform it into 1 hertz, 5 hertz, 10 hertz, or whatever it is. So we have really a frequency transformer similar to what Tesla was thinking. Third, and most important, once we create the waves they propagate exactly the way Tesla conceived it through the earth ionosphere waveguide. [SIZE=-7]Source: Selections from an interview with Dr. Dennis Papadopoulos Professor of Physics, University of Maryland Senior Science Advisor, H.A.A.R.P (High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program)[/SIZE]
Tesla was one of the world's most original and greatest inventors and thinkers, but because he was so original and out of his time, his genius was mistaken for insanity and science fiction. Tesla technology is still promising, it continues to run up against a wall of "organized opposition". Tesla was a “true” inventor in that he did not merely improve on existing technology, but instead he had a tendency to create entire new industries with his radical ideas. Although much of Tesla's work remains to be reconstructed, he will at least be an active topic of discussion well into the 21st century.

Tesla Patents »
 

cannawizard

Well-Known Member


Ancient Sulphur Lights

If a torch is made of sulphur mixed with lime, the fire will not diminish after being plunged into water.
Such torches were used by the ancient Romans. The torch is a common emblem of enlightenment as well as hope. Thus the Statue of Liberty, actually "Liberty Enlightening the World", lifts her torch. Crossed reversed torches were signs of mourning that appear on Greek and Roman funerary monuments, a torch pointed downwards symbolizes death, while a torch held up symbolizes life, Truth and the regenerative power of flame.
Trithemius a German monk's 500-year-old mystery solved
Trithemius is the latinised name of Johann Zeller from Trittenheim, or Johann von Trittenheim as he called himself. Almost 500 years after Trithemius set down his pen, a German professor at La Roche College, Thomas Ernst, unlocked his secrets.
The encryption technique Trithemius employed is an early, primitive version of what would centuries later beget the Enigma machine, the ingenious device that Germany used during World War II to encrypt messages and the Allies famously used to read those messages.
Ever Burning Lights ascribed to Johannes Trithemius
Two eternal unquenchable burning temporal lights of Mr Trittemio Abbot at Sponheim, described by the hande of Bartholomeus Korndorffer.
Two unquenchable eternal lights are founder and to be seen hearin, which I Bartholomeus Korndorffer have written of a disciple of Mr Trittemius Abbot of Sponheim, which did affirme with an oath that they were never published nor opened before, only that his Mr the Abbot had bestowed one of them unto a great potentat. this famous Maus Trittemius, which lived in time of the great Imperiour Maximilian the first, and none like unto him was to be founde in his age, hath done much good with his artes, not mingled with divilish worcke, as some malicious men doe accuse his, butt he did knowe all what was done in the world of what he desireth by the starres of ministerie, he hath also tolde of things to come manie times. Once as was travaling, came to S. Moritz, and found an acquaintance to whome I spoke, he was glad to see mee, he invited mee to dinner, and another named servatius Hohel, which had been with the Abbot at Sponheim and served him 12 years. He was vere civill, yet sometime he spoke a word of this arte. Now as wee came together, and dinner beying past Mr Hohell desireth mee to goe with him to his chammer, which i did discoursing of diverse matter of artes and seying he was an antient man, I desired to leave him allone to his studie butt he would not left mee, and bespoke a meale by his hostess, which wee two did take in his chammer. Mr Hohel did bestowe uppon mee that time, the handwriting of Mr Trittemius whearin thease two incombustible lights were wrytten, and some magick peeces, which I did trye 7 prouve affterwards & founde them to be vere true & right. Mr Hohel tolde mee also that his Mr Trithemius had bestowed one of those lights unto this great potentat the Emperour Maximilian, and placed it in a glass in his chammer, which the sayd potentat had keept vere well, and many had seen the lightning thereof. After that a sickness aryseth that the Emperour did departe from that place, & came not to this place again in 20 years: but as he came theather at the least, Mr Trittemius beying dead long before, he remembered this light & went presently to see it, which was found theare with all tokens unquenchable as Mr Trittemius had lefft it, & the people of that castel tolde the Emperor that they had seene continually a lightning in that place, licke a lampe in a church. Wherefore this Emperour lefft the light years still burning wheare it shall surne still at this daye, which is a great secret in this worlde. the Emperour Maximilian hath given 6000 crownes for those temporall everlasting lights.

Hearuppon followeth the process & practica

Take 4 unces of sulphur, & so much of calcyned alume, bruise them together, put it into an earthen sublimatorie, place it into a coale fier, well lited, let the sulphur ascend through the Alume, and in 8 houres is it prepared.
Thearof take at the lesse 2 1/2 unces, and one unce of good christallick venetian porras, bruse them two small togeather, put it into a flat glasse that it may lye flatly, poure uppon it a stronge sharpe 4 times distilled spirit of wine uppon it, & extracte it in ashes sofftly to the oyle, poure it uppon again, extracte it to the oyle, poure it uppon again & drawe it of agayne; take a litle of the sulphure, laye it uppon a red hott copper plate, and when it floweth like wax without smoking then is it prepared, if not then must thou extract theareof more of the spirit of wine, till it sustineth the proove & it is prepared.


Nowe take alumephume, make therof a top not as long as a little finger, and halfe as thicke, foulde it about with whyte silke, put it thus whole into a venetian little glasse, & joyne thearunto of the prepared sulphure, place it a day & night in hott sande, that the top be continually in the sulphur. Nowe take the top thearout, and put it into such a glasse, that the top looke out a little, adde thearunto of the prepared incombustible chyburals, place the glasse into hott sand till the sulphure melteth, and cleaveth beneath and upward about the top, that it be seene but a little above, kindle the top with a common light, & it beginneth to burne presently, and the sulphure remaineth flowing, take the light and place it wheare you wilt, and it burneth continually for ever.
 

cannawizard

Well-Known Member

Bright future – Clive Wing basks in his plasma light



Clive’s hands make green lights work


9:40pm Wednesday 5th August 2009
CLIVE Wing believes the eco lighting system he developed in his back room could become the first major environmentally friendly find of the 21st century Clive, of Southbourne Grove, Westcliff has spent five years tinkering with a new light source, which he says is capable of shining brightly across the whole world.
He claims his Sulphur Plasma Light is the most natural source of unnatural illumination on the planet, using less power than a conventional household bulb, at a fraction of the cost.
The 47-year-old believes his find can also improve working conditions in medical, mining and maritime operations and, most importantly help end starvation and improve productivity in human beings “The Sulphur Plasma Light can improve the quality of life for everybody around the world,” says Clive.
Clive didn’t invent the light, but developed an old piece of technology in his back room, which is a chaotic jumble of design drawings, lighting tubes and lamps.
“It was originally developed by an American scientist,” explains Clive, who happily admits his experimentation has caused him numerous electric shocks. “But he failed to review the patent, which allowed me to develop it further.
“I stumbled across the light on the internet when I found pictures of a crop growing in a dark underground complex in America.
“I always had a keen interest in lighting and couldn’t believe what I was seeing. I’d never heard of a light powerful enough to do this.
“I started trying to track the light down and a contact of mine in China sourced the only Sulphur Plasma Light bulb in existence.
“The bulb was fine, but didn’t have a power source so I started experimenting with ways of igniting it. Eventually, I took a microwave oven apart and fired microwaves into the bulb.
“It did the trick, lit up and threw out the most pure white light I have ever seen. It really was amazing. I had the light source, now I just needed to build a machine and cooling system which could harness its power.”
Clive constructed an operational cabinet for the bulb, first from wood and then from metal, before placing it on the internet and receiving excited feedback from top scientists across the globe.
“I had e-mails from Russia, America, Korea and Sweden. They couldn’t believe what they were seeing because of the long term implications of the light,” he adds.
“This device produces a natural light. It is an illumination engine which can inject light into a tube above a swimming pool, or a lamp above an operating theatre.
“It is the purest and brightest light on the planet, a mini sun on Earth which radiates all colours of the spectrum through its beam.
“Most importantly, it is environmentally friendly. The bulb is biodegradable and can be thrown straight on the garden as a fertiliser once it is spent.”
Clive claims the light offers massive benefits for the populations of all continents. “The applications are huge,” he says. “Take crops. You could grow bananas in a warehouse in the middle of London under this light.
“But more importantly it is a cheaper source of power which lasts longer, meaning it would have major benefits in poorer countries.
“Studies have been made into its benefits. On tests using cucumbers, corn, cabbage and carrots the vegetable yield showed an increase of up to a third, using half the electricity in the process, which is economically and environmentally impressive.”
Clive also claims the light could have uplifting benefits in offices and educational centres.
“The lighting we have at the moment, in buildings and on the streets, is so inferior it’s a wonder we’re not walking around and bumping into each other,” smiles the former Marconi employee.
“Sulphur plasma illumination operates in the full spectrum of colours, suppressing melatonins in our bodies which make us sleepy.”
So why hasn’t Clive taken his lamp, which in its flimsy metallic casing currently looks like something out of a low budget Seventies sci-fi film, on to Dragon’s Den?
“It’s too public and they don’t have enough money,” he laughs. “We’ve had a few sniffs and there are talks ongoing, but what I am really looking for is an investor to take it to the next stage.
“At the moment it costs £2,000 to build one unit. But if I could get £400,000 it would enable me to create a template for mass production and bring the unit cost down to about £100.”
 

cannawizard

Well-Known Member
RE.POST


Journal of Integrative Biosciences 3(1):57-65. 21 Nov. 2008.

Special Issue on Hairy Roots (A. Lorence and F. Medina-Bolivar, co-editors)
© 2008 by Arkansas State University





Hairy Roots:

From High-Value Metabolite Production to Phytoremediation



Walter Suza1, Rodney Shea Harris1 and Argelia Lorence1, 2*


1Arkansas Biosciences Institute, and 2Department of Chemistry and Physics,
Arkansas State University, P.O. Box 639, State University, AR 72467, USA.
* Corresponding author; email: [email protected]


Keywords: phytoremediation, hairy roots, environmental cleanup






ABSTRACT

Environmental pollution is a global concern that is threatening the well-being of all life forms including humans. The cost of cleaning up contaminated sites is high and phytoremediation, the use of plants for removal of environmental pollutants, offers an attractive option due to its low cost and safety of implementation. The hairy roots technology has potential to become an excellent platform for studying numerous aspects encompassing phytoremediation. This is because hairy roots can be grown in large mass in culture media in a controlled environment and can therefore be subjected to various physiological assays. Also, these transformed roots are amenable to genetic manipulation and may facilitate the characterization of genes that influence the phytoremediation capacity of plants. This idea is well supported by the recent success in the development of transgenic plants for use in phytoremediation. Thus, hairy roots offer a good opportunity for the initial assessment of transgene efficacy in phytoremediation. Also, in the near future, hairy roots might be developed into initial screens for plants with enhanced capacity for phytoremediation. This review highlights the recent advances in the use of hairyroots to assess plants for their potential in removing important water and soil pollutants such as metals, explosives, radionuclides, insecticides, and antibiotics.


Environmental pollution is a global concern
Environmental pollution is a global problem that affects both the developing and developed countries (Suresh and Ravishankar, 2004). To a large extent, both human and natural processes contribute to environmental pollution and contaminants are commonly classified as either organic or inorganic. Organic contaminants are a result of human activities including oil spills, military explosives, agriculture, fuel production, and wood treatment (Pilon-Smits, 2005). Common organic pollutants such as trichloroethylene (TCE), herbicides such as atrazine, explosives such as trinitrotoluene, petrochemicals such as benzene, toluene, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and the fuel additive methyl tert-butyl ether may contaminate soils and water (Xingmao and Burken, 2003; Pilon-Smits, 2005; Rentz et al., 2005; Suresh et al., 2005; González et al., 2006). In general, inorganic contaminants originate from either natural processes of soil weathering or human activities including agriculture and mining (Pilon-Smits, 2005). Subsequently, both natural and human activities may promote the release of heavy metals e.g. manganese, lead, copper, zinc, molybdenum, mercury, and nickel into soils and water posing a health threat to livestock and human populations (Nedelkoska and Doran, 2000a). For example, mercury is an important health concern to populations that rely heavily on the consumption of fish as a protein source (Hajeb et al., 2008 ), and to a large extent all global water bodies face the threat of mercury contamination (Harris et al., 2007).

Plants are used to remove environmental contaminants

The health consequences due to environmental pollution are dire and the cost of cleaning up contaminated sites is high (Kuiper et al., 2004; Doty, 2008). Therefore, the use of plants to absorb, stabilize and degrade contaminants, collectively referred to as phytoremediation, is gaining acceptance as a more cost-effective alternative to other cleanup approaches. Phytoremediation is a technology that has been extensively reviewed (for recent reviews see Suresh and Ravishankar, 2004; Pilon-Smits 2005, and Doty, 2008). Our intention here is not to duplicate the efforts of the experts in the field, but instead we will concentrate this review on the potential of hairy roots as a powerful tool to study the phytoremediation capacity of plants.

The process of contaminant extraction by plants and the subsequent fates of the contaminant are described in Figure 1. Plant roots may act as a conduit for the absorption of a contaminant which is then translocated through the vascular system and concentrated in plant harvestable tissues in a process called phytoextraction (Doty, 2008). In addition, roots may provide a haven for microbial growth by secreting exudates that in turn act as a source of nutrition for the microbes and also serve as important cues for enhancing plant-microbe interactions (Bais et al., 2006). The resulting rhizospheric interactions may enhance the biodegradation of organic contaminants in a process referred to as phytostimulation (Pilon-Smits, 2005 and references therein). Prior and after entering the plant via the root system, the contaminant may become target for degradation by either secreted or internal plant enzymes in a process called phytodegradation (Boominathan et al., 2004; Doty, 2008). The phytoremediation of some organic contaminants (e.g. TCE) is influenced by its concentration and the rate of transpiration, and TCE may be released from the plant through volatilization (Xingmao and Burken, 2003). Thus, in phytoremediation plants are used to facilitate optimum conditions for microbial break down of contaminants and to extract contaminants which may be metabolized or sequestered inside the plant (Boominathan et al., 2004; Tamaoki et al., 2005). Even though the rate of detoxification of organic contaminants in plant tissue is slow (Van Aken, 2008), the rising costs of physicochemical cleanup methods of contaminated sites makes phytoremediation a more attractive alternative (Doty, 2008 and references therein).

In order to mitigate the downward-migration of contaminants to the below-ground water reservoirs and lateral movement of contaminants via runoff and wind erosion, fast-transpiring trees e.g. poplar (Populus sp.) are grown together with grasses resulting in phytostabilization of contaminants (Pilon-Smits, 2005). Therefore, in phytoremediation, plants provide dual benefits; they play the role of providing optimum conditions for root colonizing bacteria and also provide a simple and cost-effective way of extracting contaminants (Suresh and Ravishankar, 2004). Since roots are the primary contact between plant tissues and contaminants in the soil or water they provide a key point for assessment of the phytoremediation potential of a particular plant species. The underground portion of a plant system where roots are in contact with the micro biota is referred to as the rhizosphere (Walker et al., 2003) and the interaction among plant, microbes and mycorrhizal colonies is regulated to a large extent by root exudates (Walker et al., 2003; Bais et al., 2006). To that regard, root exudates are an essential component for pollutant degradation by microbes in the rhizosphere, and rhizosphere processes are thought to be essential for facilitating the uptake of contaminants by plants (Rentz et al., 2005). Therefore, the root environment and interactions among roots and microorganisms are key aspects to consider in phytoremediation (Barea et al., 2005).




Figure 1. Uptake and metabolism of environmental contaminants by plants: Contaminants can be absorbed by roots and foliage, transformed and degraded in planta, or volatilized into the atmosphere; rhizosphere interactions may also contribute to extraction and degradation of contaminants during phytoremediation. Hairy roots are a powerful tool to study various key processes that impact the overall phytoremediation capacity of plants, i.e. the rate of pollutant degradation, extraction, or stabilization. Hairy roots can also be used to study how root exudates may stimulate the degradation of particular contaminants.



Hairy roots biotechnology for valuable metabolite production

Hairy roots are fine fibrous structures that are formed on plant tissues infected by Agrobacterium rhizogenes, a soil bacterium responsible for the root mat disease (Georgiev et al., 2007; Veena and Taylor, 2007). After infecting the cells, A. rhizogenes stably transfers several of its genes to the plant genome resulting in physiologic changes in the host cell leading to enhanced growth in hormone-free media (Srivastava and Srivastava, 2007). The observed changes in root physiology and morphology are associated with the transfer of a cluster of genes from the A. rhizogenes large Ri (root-inducing) plasmid into the plant genome. The symptoms observed with A. rhizogenes infection may suggest that the transformed cells have been rendered more sensitive to auxin without altering the production of these plant hormones (McAfee et al., 1993; Srivastava and Srivastava, 2007).

Humankind has tapped into the plant natural products reservoir not only for nutritional needs, but also for medicinal and aesthetic purposes (Srivastava and Srivastava, 2007). However, to a high degree most valuable plant natural products are produced in small amounts from specialized metabolic pathways that fluctuate with respect to environmental conditions. The versatility of the hairy roots system has allowed the development of platforms for the production of high-value natural products, at times in scaled up bioreactors (Georgiev et al., 2007; Cuello and Yue, 2008; Villarreal et al., 2008; Weathers et al., 2008). In addition, the inherent characteristics of hairy roots including their fast growth, genetic stability, short doubling time, and ability to produce a broad range of metabolites similar to wild type make this system a powerful tool for metabolic engineering (Veena and Taylor, 2007). In combination with transgenic approaches, the capacity of hairy roots metabolism can be manipulated for the enhancement of de novo synthesis of high value phytochemicals (Guillon et al., 2006).


Hairy roots technology offers important advantages for phytoremediation studies

Hairy roots offer several advantages for use in phytoremediation studies, these include: their ability to grow rapidly in microbe-free conditions, providing a greater surface area of contact between contaminant and tissue, and they are genetically and metabolically more stable in comparison to wild type (Gujarathi et al., 2005; Georgiev et al., 2007). Hairy roots are also amenable to genetic transformation, making gene transfer and characterization possible in a system that may pose minimum health or environmental concerns. Another advantage of using hairy roots for studying phytoremediation is their ability to produce large quantities of exudates which are composed of enzymes and some metal chelating compounds that may detoxify or sequester harmful organic and inorganic contaminants (Gujarathi et al., 2005; Bais et al., 2006; Doty, 2008). As shown in Table 1, hairy roots have been used to assess the potential of several plant species to remove contaminants from the environment. For example, the hairy root cultures of black nightshade (Solanum nigrum) may metabolize and remove PCBs from solutions spiked with PCB congeners (Macková et al., 1997a,b; Kučerova et al., 2000; Rezek et al., 2007). Also, by studying the rates of removal and the fate of contaminants such as the explosives hexahydro-1,3-5-trinitro-1,3-5-triazine (RDX) and octahydro-1,3,5,7-tetranitro-1,3,5,7-tetrazocine (HMX), Badhra et al. (2001) discovered that periwinkle (Catharanthus roseus) hairy roots have an “intrinsic ability” to remove these molecules from the medium. RDX and HMX are the two most common pollutants found in military sites where explosives are commonly tested (Pilon-Smits, 2005).

Recently, hairy roots have been used to test plants for their ability to tolerate high levels of phenols (de Araujo et al., 2002). Phenols are commonly used in various agricultural applications or released from coal and petroleum refining activities, and they pose a threat to human health (de Araujo et al., 2002; Agostini et al., 2003; Coniglio et al., 2008). In hairy roots of carrot (Daucus carota) and other plant species the role of peroxidase enzymes might be the key factor in the removal of phenol and chlorophenols from the culture medium (Agostini et al., 2003; González et al., 2006; de Araujo et al., 2006; Singh et al., 2006; Coniglio et al., 2008). Also, the inherent activity of peroxidases in hairy roots of rapeseed (Brassica napus) was associated with the effective removal of 2,4-dichlorophenol and phenol from the medium for several cycles and the removal process was enhanced by exogenously-applied hydrogen peroxide (Agostini et al., 2003; Coniglio et al., 2008). It appears that other plants use additional mechanisms to remove phenol. For instance, cells of carrot, kangaroo apple (Solanum aviculare) and sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) hairy roots are able to incorporate and conjugate phenolic compounds with polar cellular materials (possibly sugars and proteins) as well as with insoluble materials such as cell walls and membranes (de Araujo et al., 2006).

To a greater extent, the ability of plants to metabolize contaminants will depend on the biochemical characteristics of metabolizing enzymes and other protective mechanisms that may prolong tissue survival. Indeed, results from a comparative study of peroxidase enzymes from hairy roots of carrots, sweet potato and kangaroo apple demonstrated an inter-specific variation in the preference for phenol and chlorophenol among peroxidases (de Araujo et al., 2004). Also, peroxidase isozymes involved in phenol removal within a species may show variation in substrate preference and catalytic efficiency of phenol metabolism (Coniglio et al., 2008). It is noteworthy that, these studies are important in establishing an understanding of the enzymatic mechanisms of contaminant degradation for the selection of candidate enzymes that might be produced in large amounts and used as catalysts for contaminant break down (González et al., 2006).

An inspiring study by Eapen et al. (2003) demonstrated that hairy roots of the Indian mustard (B. juncea) and Chenopodium amaranticolor could remove uranium from solutions and could withstand high concentrations of this radionuclide for days. It is encouraging to imagine that in the near future it may become possible to use plants to cleanup sites contaminated with radioactive waste and alleviate the devastating environmental problems that may arise through uranium contamination of soils and water (Gavrilkescu et al., 2008).

The uptake of metals and their distribution in plant tissues are both important aspects governing the capacity of plants to remove heavy metals from the soil. Hairy roots have demonstrated that they can be used as a means for screening a wide variety of plant species for their capacity to extract and sequester metals (Nedelkoska and Doran, 2000a). A comparative assessment of nickel tolerance between hairy roots and whole plants revealed that the translocation of nickel to above ground shoots may not be required for nickel tolerance and hyperaccumulation in certain species of Alyssum (Nedelkoska and Doran, 2001). This suggests that nickel tolerance may be conferred by a reduced oxidative damage of hairy roots tissue due to enhanced catalase activity (Boominathan and Doran, 2002). Therefore, additional mechanisms to metal translocation and accumulation in shoots of hyperaccumulators may play a significant role in heavy metal tolerance. Indeed, using hairy roots, Boominathan and Doran (2003a) demonstrated that cadmium was extracted by alpine pennygrass (Thlaspi caerulescens) and accumulated in high levels in complexes with organic acids inside the cell walls.




Table 1. Phytoremediation of various environmental pollutants by hairy root cultures as tools to study the uptake and degradation of xenobiotics
Plant species
Model pollutant
Reference
Black nightshade (Solanum nigrum)
Alpine pennygrass (Thlaspi caerulescens)
PCBs
Cadmium
Macková et al. (1997a; b)
Nedelkoska and Doran (2000b)
Alyssum sp.
Nickel
Nedelkoska and Doran (2001)
Periwinkle (Catharanthus roseus)
RDX and HMX
Bhadra et al. (2001)
Carrot (Daucus carota)
Phenol and chloroderivatives
de Araujo et al. (2002)
Wild mustard (Alyssum bertolonii) and
alpine pennygrass (T. caerulescens)
Nickel, and cadmium

Boominathan and Doran (2002)

Deadly nightshade (Atropa belladonna)
TCE
Banerjee et al. (2002)
Rapeseed (Brassica napus)
2,4-Dichlorophenol
Agostini et al. (2003)
Indian mustard (Brassica juncea) and Chenopodium amaranticolor
Uranium
Eapen et al. (2003)

Indian mustard (B. juncea) andchicory (Cichorium intybus)
DDT
Suresh et al. (2005)
Sunflower (Helianthus annuus)
Tetracycline and oxytetracycline
Gujarathi et al. (2005)
Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum)
Phenols
Oller et al. (2005)
Carrot (D. carota), sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas), and kangaroo apple (Solanum aviculare)
Guaiacol, catechol, phenol, 2-chlorophenol, and 2,6-dichlorophenol
de Araujo et al. (2004; 2006)

Indian mustard (B. juncea)
Phenol
Singh et al. (2006)
Tomato (L. esculentum)
Phenol
Wevar-Oller et al. (2005); González et al. (2006)
Rapeseed (B. napus)
Phenol
Coniglio et al. (2008)
Yellow tuft (Alyssum murale)
Nickel
Vinterhalter et al. (2008)



DDT= Dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane;, HMX=oxtahydro-1,3,5,7-tetranitro-1,3,5,7-tetrazocine; PCBs = polychlorinated biphenyls; RDX=hexahydro-1,3-5-trinitro-1,3-5-triazine; TCE=Trichloroethylene;



Also, in another study, Boominathan and Doran (2003b) revealed that an inherent high catalase activity may play an important role in cadmium hyperaccumulation in T. caerulescens hairy roots. Therefore, the establishment of hairy root cultures for a variety of plant species might be a good strategy in studies of growth and heavy metal tolerance in plants (Nedelkoska and Doran, 2000b). Ultimately, the application of tissue culture technology may prove powerful in the regeneration of shoot cultures from hairy roots of selected species of plants with superior phytoremediation traits (Vinterhalter et al., 2008).

It is important to monitor and limit the release of pesticides and antibiotics into the environment, and of equal importance is the identification of methods for cleanup in the case of contamination. Hairy roots of sunflower (Helianthus annuus) are effective in extracting and metabolizing antibiotics including tetracycline and oxytetracycline through a process that is thought to involve reactive oxygen intermediates (Gujarathi and Linden, 2005). There is controversy regarding the continuous use of the insecticide DDT to combat mosquitoes that spread malaria in developing countries (Sadasivaiah et al., 2007) even though some studies suggest that DDT might have negative health effects on human health (Hatcher et al., 2008). Hairy roots of chicory (Cichorium intybus) and Indian mustard (Brassica juncea) have been used to study their potential in removing DDT from contaminated sites (Suresh et al., 2005). Interestingly, C. intybus and B. juncea might produce enzymes that degrade DDT (Suresh et al., 2005), thus offering a promising possibility for the characterization of these enzyme(s) and for similar studies to be done in other plant species.

The expression of heterologous proteins in hairy roots has successfully been done (Banerjee et al., 2002). Such an approach was used to express a mammalian cytochrome P450 enzyme in deadly nightshade (Atropa belladonna) and the transgenic plants were able to metabolize the environmental pollutant TCE (Bernejee et al., 2002). Five years later, Doty et al. (2007) were successful in transforming poplar (Populus tremula x Populus alba) with this mammalian enzyme to generate plants with a superior capacity to remove various organic pollutants from hydroponic solutions and air. Of the several lines transformed with the mammalian enzyme, line 78 metabolized TCE a hundred-fold more than non-transgenic control trees (Doty et al., 2007). Also, others have used transgenic approaches that involved the over-expression of plant genes encoding contaminant metabolizing enzymes in hairy roots. For example, by over-expressing a tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) tpx1 gene encoding a peroxidase in hairy roots, Wevar-Oller et al. (2005) generated roots with enhanced capacity of removing phenol from the medium. These studies demonstrated that transgenic approaches may be adopted to produce plants with novel and improved phytoremediation capacity (Van Aken, 2008). Therefore, in the near future the use of transgenic hairy root systems may become more common in testing the efficacy of transgenes and the enzymes they encode for the removal of hazardous environmental pollutants.

All these studies demonstrate the power of using hairy roots in screening for candidate genes involved in the metabolism of environmental contaminants. Figure 2 illustrates a model of the mechanism(s) by which wild type or transgenic hairy root cells may metabolize environmental contaminants. It is noteworthy, however, that although the generation of transgenic plants with enhanced phytoremediation capacity might seem as a plausible solution, public skepticism and resistance to transgenic organisms might make this option less favorable for application in the near future. Alternatively, the selection of local plant species with enhanced phytoremediation capacity through hairy root screens may become more favorable and practical in the immediate future.


CONCLUSIONS AND FUTURE DIRECTIONS

Hairy roots can be generated from many plant species by infecting them with A. rhizogenes. This technology has facilitated a more stable production of important medicinal and high-value products at times in scaled up bioreactors. The versatility of hairy roots makes this system more attractive for the assessment of various physiological aspects of plants. The problem of environmental pollution affects both local and global human populations and physicochemical technologies of environmental cleanup are costly. Therefore, the use of plants in phytoremediation is gaining more support. Plants have intrinsic abilities to extract and metabolize contaminants and their cooperation with soil microorganisms and endophytes, microbes that live inside plants, may enhance the removal of contaminants from the environment. However, it is conceivable that not all species will possess superior capacities to extract and metabolize pollutants. These valuable plant traits can be screened for using hairy root cultures. Thus, the initial selection of superior plant species for use in phytoremediation can begin in the laboratory followed by the actual growing and testing plants in the greenhouse and the field. As hairy roots are amenable to genetic transformation, transgenic approaches may be used to study candidate genes that affect pollutant removal.











Figure 2. Metabolism of environmental contaminants by hairy root cells: (A) a cartoon depiction of a hairy root cell expressing contaminant metabolizing enzymes (white chevron and black pie) at basal levels; (B) environmental contaminants (red diamonds) may promote the production of reactive oxygen species (yellow pentagon), the enhanced production of ROS scavenging enzymes and antioxidants (white chevron), and/or contaminant metabolizing enzymes (black pie); (C) the expression of transgenes of animal or plant origin may also result in the enhanced production of contaminant metabolizing enzymes (blue chevron and orange pie) and phytoremediation capacity of plants.



Therefore, in the near future the hairy roots technology might be used more commonly in biotechnological efforts ranging from metabolite production to phytoremediation. Despite the large potential of hairy roots in phytoremediation studies, the ongoing challenge will be the actual translation of laboratory results to field applications. The lack of microbes in axenic hairy roots media may prevent our full appreciation of the benefits of the rhizospheric organisms that often enhance the uptake and breakdown of pollutants. Nevertheless, it is encouraging to witness the recent development of transgenic plants, poplar trees in particular, that promise to offer a tremendous impact on phytoremediation. In summary, hairy roots provide a promising tool in the field of phytoremediation but the work of environmental remediation has just begun.


ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Phytoremediation-related research at the Lorence Laboratory is funded by the Arkansas Biosciences Institute, the major research component of the Arkansas Tobacco Settlement Proceeds Act, and a sub-award (to AL) from the Arkansas IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence (NIH-NCCR 5 P20 RR016460-05 to L Cornett). The authors thank C Ñopo and F Medina-Bolivar for providing the hairy root picture included in Figure 1.





REFERENCES CITED

Agostini E, Coniglio MS, Milrad SR, Tigier HA, Giulietti AM (2003) Phytoremediation of 2,4-dichlorophenol by Brassica napus hairy root cultures. Biotechnol Appl Biochem 37: 139-144

Bais HP, Weir TL, Perry LG, Gilroy S, Vivanco JM (2006) The role of root exudates in rhizosphere interactions with plants and other organisms. Annu Rev Plant Biol 57: 233-266

Barea J, Pozo JM, Azcón R, Azcón-Aguilar C (2005) Microbial cooperation in the rhizosphere. J Expt Bot 56: 1761-1778

Bernejee S, Shang TQ, Wilson AM, Moore AL, Strand SE, Gordon MP, Doty SL (2002) Expression of functional mammalian P450 2E1 in hairy root cultures. Biotechnol Bioeng 77: 462-466

Bhadra R, Wayment DG, Williams RK, Barman SN, Stone MB, Hughes JB, Shanks JV (2001) Studies on plant-mediated fate of the explosives RDX and HMX. Chemosphere 44: 1259-1264

Boominathan R, Doran PM (2002) Ni-induced oxidative stress in roots of the Ni hyperaccumulator, Alyssum bertolonii. New Phytol 156: 205-215

ADDIN EN.REFLIST Boominathan R, Doran PM (2003a) Cadmium tolerance and antioxidative defenses in hairy roots of the cadmium hyperaccumulator, Thlaspi caerulescens. Biotechnol Bioeng 83: 158-167

Boominathan R, Doran PM (2003b) Organic acid complexation, heavy metal distribution and the effect of ATPase inhibition in hairy roots of hyperaccumulator plant species. J Biotechnol 101: 131-146

Boominathan R, Saha-Chaudhury NM, Sahajwalla V, Doran PM (2004) Production of nickel bio-ore from hyperaccumulator plant biomass: applications in phytomining. Biotechnol Bioeng 86: 243-250

Coniglio MS, Busto VD, González PS, Medina MI, Milrad S, Agostini E (2008) Application of Brassica napus hairy root cultures for phenol removal from aqueous solutions. Chemosphere 72: 1035-1042

Cuello JL and Yue LC (2008) Ebb-and-Flow Bioreactor Regime and Electrical Elicitation: Novel Strategies for Hairy Root Biochemical Production. Electronic J Integrative Biosciences, this issue

de Araujo BS, Charlwood VB, Pletsch M (2002) Tolerance and metabolism of phenol and chloroderivatives by hairy root cultures of Daucus carota L. Environ Pollut 117: 329-335

de Araujo BS, de Oliveira JO, Machado SS, Pletsch M (2004) Comparative studies of peroxidases from hairy roots of Daucus carota, Ipomea batatas and Solanum aviculare. Plant Sci 167: 1151-1157

de Araujo BS, Dec J, Bollag JM, Pletsch M (2006) Uptake and transformation of phenol and chlorophenols by hairy root cultures of Daucus carota, Ipomoea batatas and Solanum aviculare. Chemosphere 63: 642-651

Doty SL, James CA, Moore AL, Vajzovic A, Singleton GL, Ma C, Khan Z, Xin G, Kang JW, Park JY, Meilan R, Strauss SH, Wilkerson J, Farin F, Strand SE (2007) Enhanced phytoremediation of volatile environmental pollutants with transgenic trees. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 104: 16816-16821

Doty SL (2008) Enhancing phytoremediation through the use of transgenics and endophytes. New Phytol 179: 318-333.

Eapen S, Suseelan KN, Tivarekar S, Kotwal SA, Mitra R (2003) Potential for rhizofiltration of uranium using hairy root cultures of Brassica juncea and Chenopodium amaranticolor. Environ Res 91: 127-133

Gavrilkescu M, Pavel LV, and Cretescu I (2008) Characterization and remediation of soils contaminated with uranium. J Hazard Mater, doi:10.1016/j.hazmats.2008.07.103

Georgiev MI, Pavlov AI, Bley T (2007) Hairy root type plant in vitro systems as sources of bioactive substances. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 74: 1175-1185
González PS, Capozucca CE, Tigier HA, Milrad SR, Agostini E (2006) Phytoremediation of phenol from wastewater, by peroxidases of tomato hairy root cultures. Enzyme Microbial Technol 39: 647-653

Guillon S, Trémeouillax-Guiller J, Pati PK, Rideau M, Gantet P (2006) Hairy root research: Recent scenario and exciting prospects. Curr Opin Plant Biol 9: 341-346

Gujarathi NP, Haney BJ, Park HJ, Wickramasinghe SR, Linden JC (2005) Hairy roots of Helianthus annuus: a model system to study phytoremediation of tetracycline and oxytetracycline. Biotechnol Prog 21: 775-780

Gujarathi NP, Linden JC (2005) Oxytetracycline inactivation by putative reactive oxygen species released to nutrient medium of Helianthus annuus hairy root cultures. Biotechnol Bioeng 92: 393-402

Hajeb P, Selemat J, Ismail A, Abu Bakar F, Bakar J, Lioe HN (2008) Hair mercury level of coastal communities in Malaysia: A linkage with fish consumption. Eur Food Res Technol 227: 1349-1355
Harris RC, Rudd JWM, Amyot M, Babiarz CL, Beaty KG, Blanchfield PJ, Bodaly RA, Branfireun BA, Gilmour CC, Graydon JA, Heyes A, Hintelmann H, Hurley JP, Kelly CA, Krabbenhoft DP, Lindberg SE, Mason RP, Paterson MJ, Podemski CL, Robinson A, Sandilands KA, Southworth GR, St. Louis VL, Tate MT (2007) Whole-ecosystem study shows rapid fish-mercury response to changes in mercury deposition. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 104: 16586-16591

Hatcher JM, Delea KC, Richardson JR, Pennell KD, Miller GW (2008) Disruption of dopamine transport by DDT and its metabolites. Neurotoxicol 29: 682-690

Kučerova P, Macková M, Chromá L, Burkhard J, Tříska J, Demnerová K, Macek T (2000) Metabolism of polychlorinated biphenyls by Solanum nigrum hairy root clone SNC-90 and analysis of transformation products. Plant Soil 225: 109-115

Kuiper I, Lagendijk EL, Bloemberg GV, Lugtenberg BJ (2004) Rhizoremediation: a beneficial plant-microbe interaction. Mol Plant Microbe Interact 17: 6-15

Macková M, Macek T, Kučerová P, Burkhard J, Pazlarová J, Demnerová K (1997a) Degradation of polychlorinated biphenyls by hairy root culture of Solanum nigrum. Biotechnol Lett 19: 787-790

Macková M, Macek T, Ocenaskova J, Burkhard J, Demnerová K, Pazlarová J (1997b) Biodegradation of polychlorinated biphenyls by plant cells. Int Biodeterior Biodegrad 39: 317-325

McAfee BJ, White EE, Pelcher LE, Lapp MS (1993) Root Induction in pine (Pinus) and larch (Larix) sp. using Agrobacterium rhizogenes. Plant Cell Tissue Organ Cult 34: 53-62.

Nedelkoska TV, Doran PM (2000a) Characteristics of heavy metal uptake by plant species with potential for phytoremediation and phytomining. Minerals Eng 13: 549-561

Nedelkoska TV, Doran PM (2000b) Hyperaccumulation of cadmium by hairy roots of Thlaspi caerulescens. Biotechnol Bioeng 67: 607-615

Nedelkoska TV, Doran PM (2001) Hyperaccumulation of nickel by hairy roots of Alyssum species: Comparison with whole regenerated plants. Biotechnol Prog 17: 752-759

Pilon-Smits E (2005) Phyotoremediation. Annu Rev Plant Biol 56: 15-39

Rentz JA, Alvarez PJJ, Schnoor JL (2005) Benzo [a]pyrene co-metabolism in the presence of plant root extracts and exudates: Implications for phytoremediation. Environ Pollut 136: 477-484

Rezek J, Macek T, Macková M, Tříska J (2007) Plant metabolites of polychlorinated biphenyls in hairy root culture of black nightshade Solanum nigrum SNC-90. Chemosphere 69: 1221-1227

Sadasivaiah S, Tozan Y, Breman JG (2007) Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethylyne (DDT) for indoor residual spraying in Africa: How can it be used for malaria control?. Am J Trop Med Hyg 77: 249-263

Singh S, Melo JS, Eapen S, D' Souza SF (2006) Phenol removal using Brassica juncea hairy roots: Role of inherent peroxidase and H2O2. J Biotechnol 123: 43-49

Srivastava S, Srivastava AK (2007) Hairy root culture for mass-production of high-value secondary metabolites. Crit Rev Biotechnol 27: 29-43

Suresh B, Ravishankar GA (2004) Phytoremediation- a novel and promising approach for environmental clean-up. Crit Rev Biotechnol 24: 97-124

Suresh B, Sherkhane PD, Kale S, Eapen S, Ravishankar GA (2005) Uptake and degradation of DDT by hairy root cultures of Cichorium intybus and Brassica juncea. Chemosphere 61: 1288-1292

Tamaoki M, Freeman JL, Pilon-Smits EAH (2008) Cooperative ethylene and jasmonic acid signaling regulates selenite resistance in Arabidopsis. Plant Physiol 146: 1219-1230

Van Aken B (2008) Transgenic plants for phytoremediation: helping nature to clean up environmental pollution. Trends Biotechnol 26: 225-227

Veena V, Taylor CG (2007) Agrobacterium rhizogenes: Recent developments and promising applications. In Vitro Cell Dev Biol 43: 383-403

Villarreal ML, Caspeta L, and Quintero-Ramirez R (2008) From the Mayan highlands to the bioreactors: In vitro tissue culture of the Mexican Medicinal plant Solanum chrysotrichum. Electronic J Integrative Biosciences, this issue

Vinterhalter B, Savić J, Platiša J, Raspor M, Ninković S, Mitić N, Vinterhalter D (2008) Nickel tolerance and hyperaccumulation in shoot cultures regenerated from hairy root cultures of Alyssum murale Waldst et Kit. Plant Cell Tis Organ Cult 94: 299-303

Walker TS, Bais HP, Halligan KM (2003) Metabolic profiling of root exudates of Arabidopsis thaliana. J Agric Food Chem 51: 2548-2554

Weathers P, Liu C, Towler M, and Wyslouzil B (2008) Mist reactors: Principle, comparison of various systems, and case studies. Electronic J Integrative Biosciences, this issue

Wevar-Oller AL, Agostini E, Talano MA, Capozucca C, Milrad SR, Tigier HA, Medina MI (2005) Overexpression of a basic peroxidase in transgenic tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill. cv. Pera) hairy roots increases phytoremediation of phenol. Plant Sci 169: 1102-1111
 

cannawizard

Well-Known Member
Light Emitting Plasma – LIFI


Luxim's lightweight Light Emitting Plasma Emitter.

Luxim Corporation in California has developed a solid state light emitting plasma – it uses metal halides and argon, not sulfur. It uses no electrodes and draws 266 watts. Their latest model, announced in February 2010, is the LIFI-STA-41-02. Luxim only produces the light unit. It is up to companies further down the ‘technological food chain’ to develop specialized appliances for their specific market, such as TVs, theatrical lighting, healthcare, horticulture, etc. Crucially, the LIFI Plasma light was NOT invented to grow plants. The spectrum is still lacking a lot of red.
LUXIM is researching how to use different metal halides in the plasma cell in order to create a better spectrum for plant growth. Until they, or somebody else, figures this out, various companies in Europe and North America are experimenting with LEDs in an effort to correct the spectrum. However, whether this is actually possible or not remains a bone of considerable contention. One such example is Chameleon™ Grow Systems in Florida. They have developed the Solar Genesis VI (due for release later this year) which houses two LIFI plasma units and banks of high output LEDs. Infrared (IR) radiation from the light is minimal.
 

cannawizard

Well-Known Member
Light – A Crash Course



The human eye is most sensitive to a yellowish green color. But what seems 'bright' to us is not what plants respond best to. Photo credit: Chameleon Grow Systems.

In one sense, light can be thought of as electromagnetic radiation, like radio waves, microwaves waves, X rays and gamma radiation. What we refer to as ‘visible light’ is simply the radiation that we can sense with our eyes. The average human eye will respond to wavelengths from about 380 to 750 nanometers. We perceive light as colors, with our maximum sensitivity at around 555 nm, in the green region of the optical spectrum. Light with a wavelength of 380-450 nm is perceived as violet. As the wavelengths become shorter it becomes ultraviolet (UV). At the other end of the visible light scale, wavelengths of 620-750 nm are perceived as red. As the wavelengths become longer (infrared) we perceive this electromagnetic radiation as heat, rather than light.
Light can also be conceived as a stream of light particles, called photons. One method to calculate the intensity of an artificial plant light source is to count the number of photons that hit a leaf per second. The unit for this calculation is “micromoles per second” (μmol/sec). Some growers reference the Photosynthetic Photon Flux (PPF) – just the photons that are between 400 and 700 nm. This is clearly a more relevant way of measuring light intensity for plants than, say, lumens, but it should still only be treated as an indicator. When all has been said and done, we’re trying to establish the quantity of usable light that hits the leaves of our plants.
Spectral Distribution

The distribution of energy in the lamp on the frequency spectrum is called the Spectral Distribution. The Sun has a full, continuous spectrum – and that’s what we’re aiming for too with our grow lights. The ideal grow light efficiently transforms electricity into the maximum amount of usable light energy (for the plants), with as little heat (infrared) as possible. Other factors to consider are lamp life and depreciation, and, of course, cost!
Inverse Square Law

Remember, if you double the distance between a leaf and your artificial light source, the amount of energy that hits the leaf is divided by FOUR. Stated another way, when you double the distance from the light source you lose 75% of the light energy from the light source. So when we talk about how much ‘usable light’ a grow light puts out, we need to consider environmental factors too – namely heat! Experienced indoor growers shoot for a temperature of around 80-82°F around the canopy of their plants in a CO2 enriched environment, slightly less for atmospheric CO2 levels. It’s important that we evaluate the potential of any grow light in the “real world,” and not just the isolated data of manufacturers’ technical specification charts.
 

cannawizard

Well-Known Member


The Solar Genesis VI supplements two Luxim 266 watt LEP units with four banks of high power LEDs. Photo credit: Chameleon Grow Systems.
 

cannawizard

Well-Known Member
SunPulse® Pulse Start Metal Halide

SunPulse® bulbs were specifically designed to produce the true photochemical reactions plants need to make the maximum amount of photosynthesis and produce the most chlorophyll. This is a very important point. SunPulse® bulbs were made for plants. They were designed by Gerald Garrison – and if that name sounds familiar, you may remember he was featured on the cover of Urban Garden Magazine 003 in relation to his indoor food production facilities in February 2009.
The original SunPulse® digital bulbs, the first digital bulbs to ever be introduced, are made in four unique Kelvin colors: 3k, 4k, 6.4k and 10k. The lamps’ wattages range from 100 to 1000.


SunPulse Pulse Start Metal Halide Lamps were designed for specifically for plant growth.




Central to their lighting model is a photosynthesis delivery system which houses and rotates multiple lamps (of different Kelvin temperatures) over the plants, to provide full spectrum lighting. A lighting schedule is located on every bulb box which outlines when to use each particular bulb, as well as suggestions for those who aren’t budgeted for four bulbs per fixture.
SunPulse’s 1000w Commercial Grade bulbs were originally designed exclusively for commercial food production facilities, but are now being made available to growers everywhere for the first time. The Commercial Grade bulbs come in three proprietary colors: 2.8k (fruiting/flowering), 5.7k (full spectrum) and 10k (ripening). Commercial greenhouses around the world are already enjoying the benefits of the greater efficiencies and color rendering made possible by this series of bulbs. The Commercial Grade lamps’ high-temperature tolerances, rugged design and top quality components are the perfect choice for full-scale production facilities and now are available for smaller producers as well.
 

cannawizard

Well-Known Member
**this philips rig is gonna be on my wish list :)


Phillips HPS 400V

Lumatek's new ballast will enable growers to run highly efficient 400V lamps on 230V power.


http://tinyurl.com/yjzx2dk



Lumatek is in the process of developing a new 400V professional ballast that drives the professional Phillips HPS 400V lamp, but runs on normal 230V. Gavita, a leading European horticultural lighting company, has teamed up with Lumatek to develop and bring their products to the indoor gardening market. Industry insiders concur that this allegiance is great news for growers!
The 400V bulb, which is more efficient, performs more consistently and lasts longer – and it has an enhanced spectrum. Even better: it was built specifically to run on electronic ballasts.
 
Top