Premium
Lead, cadmium and nickel removal efficiency of white‐rot fungus Phlebia brevispora
Author(s) -
Sharma K.R.,
Giri R.,
Sharma R.K.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
letters in applied microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.698
H-Index - 110
eISSN - 1472-765X
pISSN - 0266-8254
DOI - 10.1111/lam.13372
Subject(s) - cadmium , metal , bioremediation , atomic absorption spectroscopy , chemistry , mycelium , nickel , environmental chemistry , nuclear chemistry , contamination , industrial wastewater treatment , biosorption , wastewater , botany , adsorption , environmental engineering , biology , environmental science , ecology , organic chemistry , sorption , quantum mechanics , physics
Abstract Widespread of heavy metals contamination has led to several environmental problems. Some biological methods to remove heavy metals from contaminated wastewater are being widely explored. In the present study, the efficiency of a white‐rot fungus, Phlebia brevispora to remove different metals (Pb, Cd and Ni) has been evaluated. Atomic absorption spectroscopy of treated and untreated metal containing water revealed that all the metals were efficiently removed by the fungus. Among all the used metals, cadmium was the most toxic metal for fungal growth. Phlebia brevispora removed maximum Pb (97·5%) from 100 mmol l −1 Pb solution, which was closely followed by Cd (91·6%) and Ni (72·7%). Scanning electron microscopic images revealed that the presence of metal altered the morphology and fine texture of fungal hyphae. However, the attachment of metal on mycelia surface was not observed during energy‐dispersive X‐ray analysis, which points towards the intracellular compartmentation of metals in vacuoles. Thus, the study demonstrated an application of P. brevispora for efficient removal of Pb, Cd and Ni from the metal contaminated water, which can further be applied for bioremediation of heavy metals present in the industrial effluent.