20 - Engineered yeast as a hyperaccumulator for heavy metal removal and recycling from waste streams

Abstract

Anthropogenic activities have caused rampant pollution and environmental degradation throughout the world. Industrial development and ever-growing need for materials to fulfill developmental goals have created further increase in the pollution level. One of the major causes of environmental pollution is heavy metals, released from mining, coal burning, metallurgical process, petroleum refinery, etc., mainly pollutes soil and water sources. Due to their toxic and nondegradable nature, heavy metals cause long-term hazardous impact on the environment. Although, there are many methods available to treat heavy metal pollution, biological methods have gained a lot of interest in the recent times due to their sustainable nature and low cost. However, biological treatment using yeast is a lesser explored area for heavy metal removal. Recently, studies using yeast in wild form as well as genetically modified form have emerged for heavy metal removal, which shows the potential of yeast for metal bioremediation. In this chapter, a detailed overview of yeast-based treatment of heavy metals including genetically modified yeast strains is provided. The heavy metal accumulation by such yeast strains and their possible recovery is also discussed.