Role of microbial community and metal-binding proteins in phytoremediation of heavy metals from industrial wastewater

Pooja Sharma, Ashutosh Kumar Pandey, Aswathy Udayan, Sunil Kumar

CSIR-National Environmental and Engineering Research Institute (CSIR-NEERI), Nehru Marg, Nagpur 440 020, India.

Abstract

This review illustrated the role of metal-binding proteins (MBPs) and microbial interaction in assisting the phytoremediation of industrial wastewater polluted with heavy metals. MBPs are used to increase the accumulation and tolerance of metals by microorganisms via binding protein synthesis. Microbes have various protection mechanisms to heavy metals stress like compartmentalization, exclusion, complexity rendering, and the synthesis of binding proteins. MBPs include phytochelatins, metallothioneins, Cd-binding peptides (CdBPs), cysteines (gcgcpcgcg) (CP), and histidines (ghhphg)2 (HP). In comparison with other physico-chemical methods, phytoremediation is an eco-friendly and safe method for the society. The present review concentrated on the efficiency of phytoremediation strategies for the use of MBPs and microbe-assisted approaches.

Keywords: Metal pollution, Industrial wastewater, Microorganism, Hyperaccumulator plants.