Phytoremediation of heavy metals and its endophytic bacteria effects

Abstract:

Pollution of soils and water with heavy metals is becoming one of the most severe environmental and human health hazards. Innovative ways are pressed for cleaning widespread heavy metals contamination. Phytoremediation is a remediation technology that requires the use of green plants to remove pollutants from the environment. Endophytic bacteria colonize within plant hosts without causing symptoms of infection or negative effects. The metal resistant endophytes are present in various hyperccumulatorplants. During phytoremediation of metals, the wild-type or engineered endophytes can lower metal phytotoxicity and enhance heavy metal translocation to plant through its metal-resistance system. Moreover, the metal resirtant endophytes can indirectly benefit plant growth by various mechanisms such as nitrogen fixation, solubilization of minerals production of phytohormines, siderophors, 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate (ACC) deaminase. This review describes the potential for exploiting plant-endophyte pertnerships to improve phytoremediation of heavy metals.