4-nitrobenzaldehyde (4-NBA) is a widely used chemical intermediate for industrial application and an important photodegradation product of chloramphenicol. This compound represents a substantial threat to human health and ecosystem due to its genotoxic and mutagenic effect. In this study, the 4-NBA detoxification by transgenic rice overexpressing a bacterial nitroreductase gene, ElNFS1, from Enterobacter ludwigii were investigated. The cytosol-targeted ElNFS1 transgenic plants were selected to comprehensively examine their physio-biochemical responses and phytoremediation potential to 4-NBA. Our results showed that the transgenic plants exhibited strong tolerance to 4-NBA. Overexpression of ElNFS1 could significantly alleviate 4-NBA-induced damages of photosynthetic apparatus and reactive oxygen species overproduction in transgenic plants. The phytoremediation assay revealed that transgenic plants could remove more 4-NBA from the medium than wild-type plants. HPLC and LC-MS assays showed that 4-aminobenzaldehyde was found in the reductive products of 4-NBA. Altogether, the function of ElNFS1 during 4-NBA detoxification was characterized for the first time, which provides a strong theoretical support for the application potential of ElNFS1 transgenic plants on the phytoremediation of 4-NBA.

4-硝基苯甲醛（4-NBA）是一种工业应用广泛的化学中间体，是氯霉素的重要光降解产物。由于其基因毒性和诱变作用，该化合物对人类健康和生态系统构成重大威胁。在这项研究中，研究了过表达来自路德维希肠杆菌的细菌硝基还原酶基因ElNFS1的转基因水稻的 4-NBA 解毒作用。选择以胞质溶胶为靶点的ElNFS1转基因植物，全面检测其对 4-NBA 的生理生化反应和植物修复潜力。我们的结果表明转基因植物对4-NBA表现出很强的耐受性。ElNFS1的过表达可显着减轻 4-NBA 引起的转基因植物光合器官损伤和活性氧过量产生。植物修复试验表明，与野生型植物相比，转基因植物可以从培养基中去除更多的 4-NBA。HPLC和LC-MS测定表明，4-NBA的还原产物中含有4-氨基苯甲醛。首次表征了ElNFS1在4-NBA解毒中的作用，为ElNFS1转基因植物在4-NBA植物修复中的应用潜力提供了强有力的理论支持。