Phytoremediation of Heavy Metal Pollutants Using Fungi

The growing global expansion of factories, mines, and farmlands has led to major alterations and heavy metal poisoning of land and groundwater. Heavy metals have been infiltrating the animal and human food chains both directly and indirectly in recent years, inflicting irreversible harm to their health. Phytoremediation has recently been recognized as an effective and low-cost approach to eliminating pollutant contamination in soil and water. This article explores the potential of fungi as effective phytoremediation agents for heavy metal pollution. Fungi, particularly mycorrhizal and endophytic species, have shown excellent capabilities to sequester and detoxify heavy metals. The chapter provides an overview of fungi-assisted phytoremediation, which holds promise for the sustainable remediation of heavy metal pollution, and sheds light on the current state of research in this field, emphasizing the need for further exploration and the integration of fungi into practical, eco-friendly solutions for heavy metal pollution remediation.