Remediation of metalliferous soils through the heavy metal resistant plant growth promoting bacteria: Paradigms and prospects

Various industrial, agricultural and military operations have released huge amounts of toxic heavy metals into the environment with deleterious effects on soils, water and air. Under metal stress, soil microorganisms including plant growth promoting bacteria (PGPB) have developed many strategies to evade the toxicity generated by the various heavy metals. Such metal resistant PGPB, when used as bioinoculant or biofertilizers, significantly improved the growth of plants in heavy metal contaminated/stressed soils. Application of bacteria possessing metal detoxifying traits along with plant-beneficial properties is a cost effective and environmental friendly metal bioremediation approach. This review highlights the different mechanisms of metal resistance and plant growth promotion of metal resistant PGPB as well as the recent development in exploitation of these bacteria in bioremediation of heavy metals in different agroecosystems.