Recent Advances of Phytoremediation in Environmental Detoxification

Abstract

Phytoremediation is a process of environmental clean-up that uses plants and associated microbes to clean up pollutants from the air, water, and soil by producing substances beneficial for plant growth and through controlling plant pathogens. There is an adverse effect of heavy metals on both aquatic life forms as well as terrestrial living beings including humans. Being recalcitrant, heavy metals accumulate in the environment and are eventually biomagnified via the food chain. There are advanced molecular tools for a better understanding of the mechanism of metal absorption, translocation, sequestration, and tolerance in plants and microbes. This review article describes the accumulation of heavy metals in the environment, its effect on the environment, and the current role of phytoremediation in the extinction of heavy metals.