Abstract
A heavy metal-tolerant fungus, Trichoderma virens PDR-28, was isolated from rhizosphere soil and evaluated for use in remediating mine tailing soil and for plant biomass production. PDR-28 exhibited plant growth-promoting traits, including 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) deaminase, acid phosphatase and phytase activity, siderophore production, and P solubilization. HMs were more available in mine tailing soil inoculated soil with PDR-28 than in uninoculated soil; the order of HM bioleaching was Cd>As>Zn>Pb>Cu. PDR-28 effectively removed HMs in the order of Pb>Cd>As>Zn>Cu from liquid media containing 100mgHML-1. Inoculating HM-contaminated mine tailing soil with the fungus significantly increased the dry biomass of maize roots (64%) and shoots (56%). Chlorophyll, total soluble sugars (reducible and nonreducible), starch, and protein contents increased by 46%, 28%, 30%, and 29%, respectively, compared to plants grown in uninoculated soil. Inoculation increased heavy metal concentrations in maize roots by 25% (Cu) to 62% (Cd) and in shoots by 35% (Cu) to 64% (Pb) compared to uninoculated plants. Results suggest that PDR-28 would be beneficial for phytostabilization and plant biomass production as a potential source of biofuel in the quest for renewable energy.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 129-134 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | Journal of Environmental Management |
Volume | 132 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jan 2014 |
Keywords
- Bioenergy
- Bioleaching
- Mine
- Phytoremediation
- Phytostabilization
- Trichoderma
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Environmental Engineering
- Waste Management and Disposal
- Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law