Mycoremediation of copper: Exploring the metal tolerance of brown rot fungi

Abstract

In recent decades, fungal roles in bioremediation of toxic contaminants such as potentially toxic elements (PTEs) residing in soil, waste water, and landfills have been studied. Bioremediation is an alternative way to deal with toxic contaminants in the environment. Some decay fungi are able to remove metals by producing metabolites, such as oxalate, which can react with metal ions and generate insoluble forms of metal:crystal complexes. Brown-rot fungi have the ability to produce extracellular oxalate in significant amounts, and this is closely related to chelation of copper by precipitating to copper oxalate crystals. Copper-tolerant brown-rot fungi have a potential role in a bioremediation system by depolymerizing the structure of wood treated with copper-based wood preservatives and adapting to copper through increased oxalate production and formation of copper oxalate crystals. The focus of this review is to suggest that copper-tolerant brown-rot fungi could be a viable option for use in future mycoremediation practices.

A Review about the Mycoremediation of Soil Impacted by War-like Activities: Challenges and Gaps

“…Figure 6 Fungi can be employed to promote treatment in several matrices polluted with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) [119], petroleum hydrocarbons [120][121][122][123][124], biphenyls [125], phthalates [126], polychlorinated herbicides such as polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins-PCDD [127], chlorinated insecticides and pesticides [128], textiles dyes [129], pharmaceutical substances like antibiotics sulfonamides [130], and norfloxacin [131]. Toxic metals, including cadmium, copper, mercury, lead, manganese, nickel, zinc, and iron, and metalloids, with an emphasis on arsenic, are extensively used in different types of industries, being released in high amounts to their effluents, causing direct or indirect environmental contamination where fungi can act to remediate [132][133][134][135][136]. Excellent books and original and review articles describe how these pollutants have been remediated, and some of them are documented in this manuscript as recommended readings, given the specific nature of the treatment for each type of wastewater [112,[115][116][117]135,[137][138][139][140].…”

Aplicaciones biotecnológicas de la degradación bioquímica de madera por acción de hongos Xilófagos: pudrición parda y blanca

“…Sin embargo, existen HPP tolerantes al Cu [51], que producen altas cantidades de ácido oxálico e inducen la precipitación de los iones de Cu con oxalato, mediante la quelación [52]. Los complejos formados se depositan en la superficie de la madera de forma inerte, permitiendo la detoxificación [53], [54].…”

Modification of Cellulosic Materials with Boron-Nitrogen Compounds

“…Waterborne treatments include arsenical, non-arsenical copper, and non-metal preservatives. Numerous studies were conducted on the fungicide, bactericide, insecticide, algaecide, and moldicide performances of water-borne chemicals [22][23][24][25].…”