Recent Advances in Biosorption of Copper and Cobalt by Filamentous Fungi

Abstract

Copper (Cu) and Cobalt (Co) are among the most toxic heavy metals from mining and other industrial activities. Both are known to pose serious environmental concerns, particularly to water resources, if not properly treated. In recent years several filamentous fungal strains have been isolated, identified and assessed for their heavy metal biosorption capacity for potential application in bioremediation of Cu and Co wastes. Despite the growing interest in heavy metal removal by filamentous fungi, their exploitation faces numerous challenges such as finding suitable candidates for biosorption. Based on current findings, various strains of filamentous fungi have high metal uptake capacity, particularly for Cu and Co. Several works indicate that Trichoderma, Penicillium, and Aspergillus species have higher Cu and Co biosorption capacity compared to other fungal species such as Geotrichum, Monilia, and Fusarium. It is believed that far more fungal species with even higher biosorption capability are yet to be isolated. Furthermore, the application of filamentous fungi for bioremediation is considered environmentally friendly, highly effective, reliable, and affordable, due to their low technology pre-requisites. In this review, we highlight the capacity of various identified filamentous fungal isolates for biosorption of copper and cobalt from various environments, as well as their future prospects.

Innovative method for encapsulating highly pigmented biomass from Aspergillus nidulans mutant for copper ions removal and recovery

“…This force is required to overcome the resistance to mass transfer of copper ions to the solid phase. Thus, in high metal ion concentrations, a higher concentration gradient increases the thermodynamic driving force, resulting in a greater probability of collision between the metal ions and the biosorbent binding sites, increasing the biosorption capacity [ 14 , 61 ].…”

“…Since biosorption takes place essentially in the cell wall, the mechanism by which fungi adsorb metal ions from aqueous solution depends on the surface properties of the biomass [ 14 ]. Different mechanisms, including electrostatic interactions, complexation/coordination, precipitation and ion exchange, are involved in biosorption phenomenon [ 3 , 8 ].…”

AtfA-Independent Adaptation to the Toxic Heavy Metal Cadmium in Aspergillus nidulans

“…The cell wall of A. nidulans , similarly to those of many other fungi, can bind a huge amount of Cd 2+ [ 9 , 10 , 72 , 73 ], which prevents this toxic metal from entering the cells. This property of fungal biomass can be used both for bioleaching and biomining purposes in the industry [ 72 , 74 , 75 ]. Although cadmium stress affected the transcription of some genes involved in cell wall biosynthesis or degradation, significant enrichment of the up-regulated or down-regulated cell wall homeostasis genes was not observed ( Table S5 ).…”

Sequencing and Comparative Genomic Analysis of a Highly Metal-Tolerant Penicillium janthinellum P1 Provide Insights Into Its Metal Tolerance

“…Filamentous fungi usually accumulate metal ions into their mycelia and spores through a mechanism involving the cell wall of the fungus. This mechanism also plays an important role in the existence and performance of the fungus, as well as energy absorption and valence conversion (Dusengemungu et al, 2020). However, we have not yet fully revealed the mechanism of how these fungi are resistant to heavy metal.…”