Role of arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis in remediation of anthropogenic soil pollution

Abstract

Agricultural and industrial activity generates high concentrations of organic and inorganic pollutants, many of which are incorporated into the trophic chain, affecting ecosystems. There are several strategies for the remediation of polluted areas; we discuss one of them in the present review that shows the successful evidence of the use of arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis in phytoextraction (the removal of contaminants from soil and water sources with mycorrhizal plants), and in the process of phytostabilization (the reduction of the mobility of heavy metals in soil by mycorrhizal roots, absorption onto roots, or precipitation within the root zone). Mechanisms of action of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) including, altered uptake and distribution of heavy metals, improvement in the mineral nutrition and water availability, protection against oxidative stress and increment in the physical stability of the soil by producing glomalin has been discussed with reference to heavy metals (HMs) and persistent oxidative pollutants (POPs). We report plant species associated with species of mycorrhizal fungi as strategy for phytostabilizing heavy metals and reducing biotranslocation to the aerial parts of plants.