Application of mushrooms as a pollutant remediator

Abstract

From the Industrial Revolution, at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, there was a significant impact on the environment due to increased emission of environmental pollutants. This problem has seen considerable growth in recent years due to population growth, resulting in further ecosystem changes due to human action. Furthermore, demands for water, electricity, and food have led to increasingly large concentrations of waste being emitted. In this context, bioremediation is an up-and-coming biotechnological alternative to combat the growing emission of pollutants into the environment. From this perspective, basidiomycetes, popularly known as mushrooms, are an effective tool for remediating environmental pollutants. These fungi use different mechanisms in bioremediation processes, such as biodegradation, biosorption, bioaccumulation, and bioconversion. Currently, the remediation potential of mushrooms has been increasingly studied. Therefore, this bibliographic review aims to analyze the literature on the potential of mushrooms in pollutant remediation. At the end of this analysis, it is concluded that macrofungi are a very effective and promising tool for suppressing the emission of environmental pollutants.