Role of mushrooms in soil mycoremediation:a review

Bioremediation is an innovative and promising technology available for the removal and recovery of heavy metals from contaminated media. Bioremediation uses organisms to absorb heavy metals at low cost and with no secondary pollution. Bioremediation by macrofungi that degrade pollutants or wastes is referred to as mycoremediation. Macrofungi, like mushrooms, can produce enzymes and have the ability to degrade and accumulate a wide range of toxic metals. In this paper, the research status and advances in the field of mycoremediation using different mushroom species are reviewed. Generally mushrooms use three effective strategies to recover contaminated or polluted soils: biodegradation, bioconversion, and biosorption. Mushrooms can degrade and recycle wastes and pollutants to their mineral constituents and convert wastes, sludge, and pollutants into useful forms. In addition, they can uptake heavy metals from substrates via biosorption, which is a very effective method to reclaim polluted lands. Different wild and cultivated mushroom species are used in mycoremediation, which can degrade large quantities of organic and inorganic pollutants and produce vendible products. Mycoremediation is still in its infancy, but it has notable remediation potential for pollutants or metals in soil. Mushroom species that can biodegrade, bioconvert, or absorb pollutants and metals effectively should be given the highest preference. Further research is needed to verify that this method is an easy, cost effective,and eco-friendly tool.