The Lemnaceae or duckweed family comprises 37
species of smallest and simplest flowering plants. Duckweeds have a fast growth
rate, can survive under a wide range of temperature and pH conditions and are
easy to maintain and harvest which makes them an excellent candidate for
bioremediation of wastewaters. The main objective of the present review is to
extend an appreciation for the potential of living and non-living biomass of
duckweed in remediating waters contaminated with heavy metals. Along with
showing the detailed mechanism of phytoremediation by duckweed, the paper also
discusses the enhancement of duckweed phytoremediation by the integration of
transgenic technology. Furthermore, the paper explores other applications of
duckweed specifically as fuel, animal feed, in human nutrition, in medicine and
as a life support system. Apart from this, various disposal mechanisms for
harvested duckweed have been analysed. Current understanding of removal
efficiencies of several contaminants by employing duckweed is limited mainly to
laboratory experiments. More concentrated and persistent efforts to develop
efficient approaches for the genetic transformation of duckweeds can expand the
development and utilization of duckweeds.
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