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Bioremediation of copper-contaminated soils by bacteria

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Abstract

Although copper (Cu) is an essential micronutrient for all living organisms, it can be toxic at low concentrations. Its beneficial effects are therefore only observed for a narrow range of concentrations. Anthropogenic activities such as fungicide spraying and mining have resulted in the Cu contamination of environmental compartments (soil, water and sediment) at levels sometimes exceeding the toxicity threshold. This review focuses on the bioremediation of copper-contaminated soils. The mechanisms by which microorganisms, and in particular bacteria, can mobilize or immobilize Cu in soils are described and the corresponding bioremediation strategies—of varying levels of maturity—are addressed: (i) bioleaching as a process for the ex situ recovery of Cu from Cu-bearing solids, (ii) bioimmobilization to limit the in situ leaching of Cu into groundwater and (iii) bioaugmentation-assisted phytoextraction as an innovative process for in situ enhancement of Cu removal from soil. For each application, the specific conditions required to achieve the desired effect and the practical methods for control of the microbial processes were specified.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Laetitia Pinson-Gadais very much for her help in the design of the figure.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. ISPA, INRA, Bordeaux Sciences Agro, 33140, Villenave d’Ornon, France

    Jean-Yves Cornu

  2. Université Paris-Est, Laboratoire Géomatériaux et Environnement (EA 4508), UPEM, 77454, Marne-la-Vallée, France

    David Huguenot

  3. Université de Haute Alsace, EA 3991 LVBE (Laboratoire Vigne Biotechnologies et Environnement), Equipe Dépollution Biologique des Sols, 33 rue de Herrlisheim, BP 50568, 68008, Colmar cedex, France

    Karine Jézéquel & Marc Lollier

  4. Université de Nantes, UMR 6112 LPG-Nantes (Laboratoire de Planétologie et Géodynamique de Nantes), 2 rue de la Houssinière, BP 92208, 44322, Nantes cedex 3, France

    Thierry Lebeau

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  1. Jean-Yves Cornu
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  2. David Huguenot
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  3. Karine Jézéquel
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Correspondence to Thierry Lebeau.

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Cornu, JY., Huguenot, D., Jézéquel, K. et al. Bioremediation of copper-contaminated soils by bacteria. World J Microbiol Biotechnol 33, 26 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11274-016-2191-4

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