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Effectiveness of Plant Growth-Promoting Rhizobacteria in Phytoremediation of Chromium Stressed Soils

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Waste Bioremediation

Part of the book series: Energy, Environment, and Sustainability ((ENENSU))

Abstract

Chromium pollution is increasing ceaselessly due to unending industrialization. Of the various oxidation states, Cr6+ is highly detrimental due to its mutagenic and carcinogenic nature. Lack of effectiveness of various conventional methods due to economic and technical constraints resulted in a search for an eco-friendly and cost-effective biological techniques for Cr6+ removal from the soil. Phytoremediation came up as an innovative technique to address the problem. However, the effectiveness of phytoremediation process is greatly hindered in high metal contamination environments. Recently, microbial-mediated plant stress improvement has occurred as a major element of metal stress management in plants, and their role in enhancing plant growth and improving phytoremediation process has been well studied. The inoculation of plants with metal-resistant plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) plays an important role in enhancing the efficiency of heavy metal phytoremediation. PGPR improves the plant growth through innumerable mechanisms, such as production of siderophores, solubilization of mineral nutrients, 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) deaminase, and phytohormone production. These microbes transform heavy metals into soluble and bioavailable forms, hence facilitates metal removal through phytoremediation. Correspondingly, application of plant growth-promoting bacteria exhibiting Cr6+ reduction potential when used as an inoculant with phytoremediation plant may result in improved plant growth and chromium remediation efficiency. This chapter focuses on the Cr6+ remediation potential of PGPR through metal–microbe–plant interactions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Applied Microbiology, Department of Environmental Science & Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (ISM), Dhanbad, Jharkhand, 826004, India

    Pratishtha Gupta, Rupa Rani & Vipin Kumar

  2. Department of Environmental Science & Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (ISM), Dhanbad, Jharkhand, 826004, India

    Avantika Chandra

  3. Gujarat Pollution Control Board, Gandhinagar, Gujarat, 382010, India

    Sunita J. Varjani

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  1. Pratishtha Gupta
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  2. Rupa Rani
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  3. Avantika Chandra
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  4. Sunita J. Varjani
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  5. Vipin Kumar
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Correspondence to Vipin Kumar .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Gujarat Pollution Control Board, Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India

    Sunita J. Varjani

  2. Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland

    Edgard Gnansounou

  3. Department of Biotechnology, St. Joseph’s College of Engineering, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India

    Baskar Gurunathan

  4. Department of Environmental Science, School of Earth and Environmental Science, Central University of Himachal Pradesh, Kangra, Himachal Pradesh, India

    Deepak Pant

  5. Department of Bioprocess & Polymer Engineering, Institute of Bioproduct Development, University of Technology Malaysia, Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia

    Zainul Akmar Zakaria

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Gupta, P., Rani, R., Chandra, A., Varjani, S.J., Kumar, V. (2018). Effectiveness of Plant Growth-Promoting Rhizobacteria in Phytoremediation of Chromium Stressed Soils. In: Varjani, S., Gnansounou, E., Gurunathan, B., Pant, D., Zakaria, Z. (eds) Waste Bioremediation. Energy, Environment, and Sustainability. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-7413-4_16

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