Phytoremediation

Abstract

Different types of xenobiotics or natural substances enter the environment due to natural weathering or due to anthropogenic activity and disturb the natural ecosystem. Heavy metals are one of the factors that are responsible for this through biomagnification and bioaccumulation in living organisms. The remediation of different heavy metals through plants has several advantages over other methods, because it is cost-effective and a chemical-free method. It involves phytoextraction, phytostabilization, phytovolatilization, and rhizospheric remediation. Chelatins, biosurfactants, and metallothioneins are produced and released by plants and microbes, which mainly aid in the affinity for metals and promote tolerance capacity. The bioavailability of heavy metals, chemical properties, and plant species affect the phytoremediation of heavy metals. With the help of genetic engineering, the phytoremediation ability of plants and their associated microbes could be enhanced. Rhizospheric or endophytic bacteria can increase the bioavailability of heavy metals for phytoextraction. Metagenomic and transcriptomic studies helped to understand the phytoremediation of heavy metals by living organisms. Therefore, through an enhancement strategy and selecting the correct parameters, soil fertility could be improved soil pollution reduced with the help of plants, which is a natural system for heavy metal remediation.