Abstract
The increasing expansion of mines, factories, and agricultural lands has caused many changes and pollution in soils and water of several parts of the world. In recent years, metal(loid)s are one of the most dangerous environmental pollutants, which directly and indirectly enters the food cycle of humans and animals, resulting in irreparable damage to their health and even causing their death. One of the most important missions of ecologists and environmental scientists is to find suitable solutions to reduce metal(loid)s pollution and prevent their spread and penetration in soil and groundwater. In recent years, phytoremediation was considered a cheap and effective solution to reducing metal(loid)s pollution in soil and water. Additionally, the effect of soil microorganisms on increasing phytoremediation was given special attention; therefore, this study attempted to investigate the role of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus in the phytoremediation system and in reducing contamination by some metal(loid)s in order to put a straightforward path in front of other researchers.
Highlights
Plants are the basis of phytoremediation, but various soil microorganisms such as Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi (AMF) can significantly improve phytoremediation efficiency in different ecosystems [45,90], and this has shown that AMF naturally survives on high levels of metal(loid)s and helps plants withstand these contaminants [58]
The researchers showed that inoculation of some species of AMF in different plants increases the uptake of cadmium by the roots of plants, in which case, depending on the AMF species, increases the accumulation of cadmium in the roots of plants or its transfer to the shoot [4,49], which in any case causes reduced Cd contamination in soil and improves phytoremediation in contaminated environments [166] (Figure 2)
AMF-inoculation in various forms increases phytoremediation efficiency in environments contaminated with arsenic, cadmium, lead, and chromium
Summary
Soil is the basis of life and the most valuable ecosystem globally, which plays a crucial role in producing food and filtering air and water, and is a good platform for building our homes and cities [1,2]. Research has shown that the effects of AMF vary depending on the type of soil substrate and plant species [72]; AMF causes the establishment and survival of host plants in various environments such as saline soils, alkaline soils, agricultural lands, mine tailings, soils contaminated with metal(loid)s, etc. Plants are the basis of phytoremediation, but various soil microorganisms such as AMF can significantly improve phytoremediation efficiency in different ecosystems [45,90], and this has shown that AMF naturally survives on high levels of metal(loid)s and helps plants withstand these contaminants [58]. The use of plants that are more resistant to metal(loid)s and have more ability to accumulate more metal(loid)s, if they coexist with a suitable species of AMF (Glomeraceae family), have a significant effect on reducing pollution of heavy metal contaminated environments [85,93]. Arsenic enters plant cells mainly in the form of As(III) and As(V), but eventually As(V) is catalyzed and converted to As(III) by arsenate reductase enzyme and is pumped through special cells transmitters or stored in vacuoles [124,125]
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