Remediation of heavy metals by rhizospheric bacteria and their mechanism of detoxification

Heavy metals are present in the environment naturally, however, increasing rate of industrial, anthropogenic, and geological activities have expedited the release of the high concentration of heavy metals in soil and water bodies. This results in disturbance in the balance of their biogeochemical cycle. Heavy metal contamination resulting due to its injudicious use poses a potential threat by causing metal toxicosis in animals and humans as well as severe damage to aquatic organisms. Bioremediation is an emerging and reliable solution for mitigation of these contaminants using plant and microorganisms in an eco-friendly manner. It is based on the concept of exploiting microbial metabolism and plant's accumulation process at optimum levels for the environmental cleanup. This chapter focuses on microbial-mediated removal of heavy metals and the different mechanism behind the process of detoxification.