2020/08/12 by K.R. Sharma, Kriti Sharma, R. Giri +3 · 1 citation
Environmental Science · #Adsorption and biosorption for pollutant removal #Chromium effects and bioremediation #Heavy metals in environment
paper · doi:10.1111/lam.13372
openalex publication_date 2020/08/12 · openalex created_date 2020/08/18 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
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.