Endophytes and their role in phytoremediation

Abstract

Many endophytes have been found to be resistant to heavy metals and/or capable of degrading organic contaminants, and endophyte-assisted phytoremediation has been documented as a promising technology for in situ remediation of contaminated soils. During the phytoremediation of heavy metals, the heavy-metal-resistant endophytes can enhance plant growth, decrease metal phytotoxicity, and affect metal translocation and accumulation in plants. For the phytoremediation of organic contaminants, endophytes can produce various enzymes to degrade organic contaminants and reduce both the phytotoxicity and evapotranspiration of volatile contaminants. This paper reviews the diversity of contaminant-resistant/degrading endophytes and their role in phytoremediation and discusses some issues that have been raised surrounding this area of research. © 2012 The Mushroom Research Foundation.