The Bioremediation of Contaminated Soil Caused by the Discharge of Cadmium

(Cd), Copper (Cu) and Lead (Pb) Compounds into the Soil Using White rot fungus

(Phanerochaete chrysosporium)

Bioremediation is a biotechnical process, which abates or cleans up

contamination. It is a waste management approach that employs organisms to remove

or consume pollutants from a contaminated environment. The world population

continues to grow at an amazing rate, with projections predicting that it will exceed 9

billion by 2050. The intense agricultural and industrial systems required to maintain

such a huge population would eventually result in soil, water, and air pollution. Pollution

is estimated to cause 62 million fatalities per year, accounting for 40 percent of

worldwide totals, while the World Health Organization (WHO) reports that around 7

million people are killed each year as a result of the air they breathe. Water systems

fare no better, with an estimated 70% of industrial waste discharged into nearby

waterways. Every year, the globe creates 1.3 billion tonnes of garbage, the most

majority of it is disposed of in landfills or dumped into the oceans. (Philp, 2015)

The biological breakdown of the cadmium, copper and lead compounds can be

accomplished by the use of enzymes from the white rot fungus. Phanerochaete

chrysosporium, commonly known as White rot fungus utilizes lignin, Peroxidases

enzymes have the ability to destroy a wide range of environmental contaminants. As a

result of this ability, various studies focusing on the creation of bio-treatment systems

using white rot fungi have been conducted. White rot fungus thrives in a variety of

temperatures. Fungi helps to remove pollutants by increasing the surface area available
for absorption of pollutants through its hyphae and spores, which mobilize contaminants

and bind them to the root.

As a result of rapid industrialization and anthropogenic activities such as the

uncontrolled use of agrochemicals, fossil fuel burning, and sewage sludge dumping

heavy metal, contamination has been detected in soils and rivers. As a result,

remediation is needed to prevent heavy metal absorption or dispersion into the

environment, as well as to make heavy metal extraction easier. (Kapahi, 2019)

Heavy metals are abundant in wastewater from the electroplating, paint, leather,

metal, and tanning sectors. Microorganisms, particularly fungi, have been found to

remove heavy metals from wastewater through bioaccumulation and biosorption at a

cheap cost and in an ecofriendly manner. One of the most active fields of environmental

study is dealing with heavy metal contamination. Despite their natural occurrence,

anthropogenic sources have contributed to an abnormally high concentration of heavy

metals in the environment. (Muedi, 2018) They are distinguished by their extended

persistence in the natural environment, resulting in severe health effects in people,

animals, and plants even at extremely low concentrations. Government officials' failure

to enforce tight restrictions is partly to blame for heavy metal contamination. To remove

heavy metals from the environment, many distinct therapies, including physical,

chemical, and biological, are proposed. (Rajasekar, 2019)

Cadmium, lead, and copper, are the chemicals that fungi could break down

and/or absorb. The capacity of these fungi to digest complicated compounds such as

lignin is their most essential trait. Other white rot fungus species were later revealed to
have similar properties. Furthermore, white rot fungi are beneficial because they

breakdown lignin extracellularly via their hyphal extension. This enables them to reach

soil pollutants that other organisms are unable to do, as well as increase surface area

for enzymatic interaction. These low-cost fungus can withstand harsh environmental

conditions such as pH, temperature, and moisture content. While many microbial

species employed in bioremediation require pre-conditioning of the environment in order

to survive, white rot fungus may be put directly into most systems since they

disintegrate in response to food restriction.

Bibliography
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