Role of myco-communities in the field of heavy metal remediation

Field: Environmental Science (Physical Sciences)

ABSTRACT Heavy metals have been reported as priority pollutants, due to their mobility in natural ecosystems and due to their toxicity. Bioremediation is cost effective, efficient and environmentally friendly alternative for removal of heavy metals. The ubiquitous presence of fungi has allowed acclimation to most types of wastes. During the last decade, fungi have been used in the treatment of a wide variety of wastes, and the role of fungi in the bioremediation of various hazardous and toxic compounds in soils and sediments has been established. The properties of fungi to absorb and accumulate heavy metals give potential for cheap alternative method of heavy metal removal from soil and waste water. Therefore, this review has been made to discuss about the heavy metal removal from contaminated sources by fungi of different groups like Zygomycotina, Ascomycotina, Basidiomycotina and Deuteromycotina. In this review we found, species of Aspergillus, Penicillium, Trichoderma, Saccharomyces, Mucor, Rhizopus and Pleurotus represented the best remediation agents for different heavy metals. Key words: Heavy metals; Biosorption; Bioaccumulation. REFERENCES Adeyemi, A.O. 2009. Bioaccumulation of arsenic by fungi. Am. J. Environ. Sci. 5: 364-370. Ahmad, I., Ansari, I. and Aqil, F. 2005a. Biosorption of Ni, Cr and Cd by metal tolerant Aspergillus niger and Penicillium sp. using single and multi-metal solution. Indian J. Exp. Biol. 44: 73-76. Ahmad, I., Zafar, S. and Ahmad, F. 2005b. Heavy metal biosorption potential of Aspergillus and Rhizopus sp. isolated from wastewater treated soil. J. Appl. Sci. Environ. Manage. 9: 123-126. Akhtar, K., Akhtar, M.W. and Khalid, A.M. 2008. Removal and recovery of zirconium from its aqueous solution by Candida tropicalis. J. Hazard. Mater. 156: 108-117. Alpat, S., Alpat-Kilinc, S., Bilge, H.C., Ozbayrak, O. and İhsan, Y. 2010. Effects of biosorption parameter: kinetics, isotherm and thermodynamics for Ni (II) biosorption from aqueous solution by Circinella sp. Electron. J. Biotechnol. 13: 1-12. Amatussalam, A., Abubacker, M.N. and Rajendran, R.B. 2011. In situ Carica papaya stem matrix and Fusarium oxysporum (NCBT-156) mediated bioremediation of chromium. Indian J. Exp. Biol. 49: 925-931. Amini, M., Younesi, H. and Bahramifar, N. 2009. Statistical modeling and optimization of the cadmium biosorption process in an aqueous solution using Aspergillus niger. Colloids Surf. A: Physicochem. Eng. Aspects. 337: 67-73. Anaemene, I.A. 2012. The Use of Candida sp. in the biosorption of heavy metals from industrial effluent. Eur. J. Exp. Biol. 2: 484-488. Arbanah, M., Miradatul, N.M.R. and Halim, K.H. 2012. Biosorption of Cr (III), Fe (II), Cu (II), Zn (II) ions from liquid laboratory chemical waste by Pleurotus ostreatus. Int. J. Biotechnol. Wellness Ind. 1: 152-162. Arıca, M.Y., Arpa, Ç., Kaya, B., Bektaş, S., Denizli, A. and Genç, O. 2003. Comparative biosorption of mercuric ions from aquatic systems by immobilized live and heat-inactivated Trametes versicolor and Pleurotus sajur-caju. Biores. Technol. 89: 145-154. Arica, M.Y., Bayramoglu, G., Yilmaz, M., Bektaş, S. and Genç, Ö. 2004. Biosorption of Hg2+, Cd2+, and Zn2+ by Ca-alginate and immobilized wood-rotting fungus Funalia trogii. J. Hazard. Mater. 109: 191-199. Aung, K.M.M. and Ting, Y.P. 2005. Bioleaching of spent fluid catalytic cracking catalyst using Aspergillus niger. J. Biotechnol. 116: 159-170. Bai, R.S. and Abraham, T.E. 2001. Biosorption of Cr (VI) from aqueous solution by Rhizopus nigricans. Biores. Technol. 79: 73-81. 104 | P a g e Bajgai, R.C., Georgieva, N. and Lazarova, N. 2012. Bioremediation of chromium ions with filamentous yeast Trichosporon cutaneum R57.