Microbes as Potential Tool for Remediation of Heavy Metals: A Review

Abstract

Environmental pollution caused by heavy metals has received increasing attention worldwide. The recalcitrant and tenacious nature of heavy metals leads to severe threat to environment superiority and life of both plants and animals, counting serious diseases in humans. There exists a wider scope with stress on cost-effectiveness, suitability and sustainability of the techniques to mitigate the influence of environmental change, contamination of food products and biological systems, influence of anthropogenic activities on the environment, and exploration of the aforesaid prospects along with new ingenuities for the restoration of environment. Bioremediation is measured as one of the safer, cleaner, cost operative and environmental friendly technology for decontaminating sites which are contaminated with extensive range of pollutants which is due to the unawareness concerning production, use and disposal of hazardous materials. Bioremediation uses numerous agents such as bacteria, yeast, fungi, algae and higher plants as main tools in treating oil spills and heavy metals existing in the environment. An unceasing search for the new biological forms is essential to regulate increasing pollution and environmental problems faced by man residing in an area. As microorganism demonstrations wide range of mechanisms, there are still few mechanisms which are not known, consequently bioremediation is still measured as a developing technology. Thus, there is a vital need for us to review and amend the available options for environmental clean-up. The objective of this paper is to conduct a comprehensive review on various sources of bioremediation agents and their limitations in treating pollutants present in the environment.