Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi (AMF): A Natural Tool for Phytoremediation of Heavy Metals (HMs)

Human health and the entire ecosystem have been severely jeopardized due to worldwide heavy metal pollution. Over the last few decades, phytoremediation as a means of cleaning pollution from soil has gained momentum due to its cost-effectiveness, eco-friendliness, and ease of installation and operation. Removal of toxic heavy metals (HMs) from soil through phytoremediation is an efficient methodology. Symbiotic fungi that enter mycorrhizal association with land plants induce a series of shifts in the partnering plant’s physiology, nutrient uptake, and soil microflora, which have a bearing on the effects of phytoremediation attempts. Alleviation of heavy metal phytotoxicity employing arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMFs) is an excellent strategy because of its cost-effectiveness and eco-friendly attributes. A significant headway has been progress in understanding the physiological role of AMFs in the alleviation of toxicity in plants due to heavy metals (HMs) and also that of enhanced acquisition of nutrients through them. Indigenous and stress-adapted strains of AMFs can be used to inoculate plants as potential biotechnological interventions for successfully restoring degraded ecosystems. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi assisted in bioremediation (detoxification) of heavy metal-contaminated soils by directly involving heavy metal adsorption on fungal surfaces and immobilization in the soil by glomalin.