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Bioremediation Potential of Heavy Metal–Resistant Actinobacteria and Maize Plants in Polluted Soil

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Book cover Biomanagement of Metal-Contaminated Soils

Part of the book series: Environmental Pollution ((EPOL,volume 20))

Abstract

The screening and characterization of metal resistant microorganisms and plants are important for developing novel bioremediation processes. Considering these, we assessed the potential of copper- and chromium-resistant actinomycetes for bioremediation activity in polluted soils. Also, we assessed the effects of copper concentrations on roots, shoots, and leaf growth of maize and the copper uptake and accumulation by the maize plants. Four chromium resistant Streptomyces strains reduced hexavalent chromium up to 85–95% after 21 days. The novel copper-resistant actinobacterium Amycolatopsis tucumanensis efficiently immobilized copper when inoculated into copper-polluted soil microcosms: bioavailable Cu was 31% lower in soil compared to non-bioaugmented soil. Maize plant was found interesting both as biomarker and bioremediation tool. The bioremediation activity of A. tucumanensis inoculated maize plants grown in polluted soil microcosms correlated well with the values obtained with chemical and physical methods: 20% and 17% lower tissue contents of copper were measured in roots and leaves, respectively. The roots, shoots, and leaves of maize plants also showed a great ability to accumulate copper, which however increased with metal concentration. The metal concentrations were 382 times more in roots, 157 in shoots, and only 16 in leaves, compared to the control (without CuSO4).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Planta Piloto de Procesos Industriales y Microbiológicos (PROIMI-CONICET), Tucumán, Argentina

    Claudia S. Benimeli, Marta A. Polti, Virginia H. Albarracín, Carlos M. Abate & María J. Amoroso

  2. Universidad del Norte Santo Tomás de Aquino, Tucumán, Argentina

    Claudia S. Benimeli & María J. Amoroso

  3. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán, Avenida Belgrano y Pasaje Caseros, 4000, Tucumán, Argentina

    Marta A. Polti, Virginia H. Albarracín, Carlos M. Abate & María J. Amoroso

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  1. Claudia S. Benimeli
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  2. Marta A. Polti
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  3. Virginia H. Albarracín
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  4. Carlos M. Abate
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  5. María J. Amoroso
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Correspondence to Claudia S. Benimeli .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Fac. Agricultural Sciences, Dept. Agricultural Microbiology, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, 202002, India

    Mohammad Saghir Khan

  2. Fac. Agricultural Sciences, Dept. Agricultural Microbiology, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, 202002, India

    Almas Zaidi

  3. , Department of Microbiology, Govind Ballabh Pant University of Agricu, Pantnagar, 263145, India

    Reeta Goel

  4. , Department of Zoology, King Saud University, Riyadh, 11451, Saudi Arabia

    Javed Musarrat

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Benimeli, C.S., Polti, M.A., Albarracín, V.H., Abate, C.M., Amoroso, M.J. (2011). Bioremediation Potential of Heavy Metal–Resistant Actinobacteria and Maize Plants in Polluted Soil. In: Khan, M., Zaidi, A., Goel, R., Musarrat, J. (eds) Biomanagement of Metal-Contaminated Soils. Environmental Pollution, vol 20. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-1914-9_20

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