Abstract :
The environment must face an increasing number of chemicals and affected organisms require efficient protective mechanisms. Similar to animals, plants are able to metabolize. The similarities of metabolite pattern, enzyme systems and responsible gene families led to the development of the “green liver concept”. Detoxication processes can be divided in three steps: phase I activation of xenobiotics, followed by phase II conjugation and phase III internal compartmentation. Detoxication mechanisms have mostly been studied in terrestrial plants, information is rare about the detoxication capacity of marine and freshwater plants. The existence of cytochrome P-450, peroxidases, glutathione S-transferases or glucosyltransferases has been shown for several aquatic plants. These plants (macropyhtes and macroalgae) contain a whole set of detoxication enzymes. These results expand the green liver concept to an ecologically important segment of marine and freshwater plants. Due to their enormous biomass, they may play an important role in aquatic detoxication but might have to balance the energy demands from other processes like growing or reproduction.
