Lead remediation is promoted by phosphate-solubilizing fungi and apatite via the enhanced production of organic acid

Da Tian; Xiaoru Zhang; Liyan Wang; Mingxue Han; Chaochun Zhang; Xinxin Ye

doi:10.3389/fbioe.2023.1180431

Lead remediation is promoted by phosphate-solubilizing fungi and apatite via the enhanced production of organic acid

Front Bioeng Biotechnol. 2023 Mar 30:11:1180431. doi: 10.3389/fbioe.2023.1180431. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Da Tian^{1

2

3}, Xiaoru Zhang^{1

2

3}, Liyan Wang^{1

2

3}, Mingxue Han^{1

2

3}, Chaochun Zhang^{1

2

3}, Xinxin Ye^{1

2

3}

Affiliations

¹ Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Farmland Conservation and Pollution Prevention, College of Resources and Environment, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei, China.
² Anhui Province Engineering and Technology Research Center of Intelligent Manufacture and Efficient Utilization of Green Phosphorus Fertilizer, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei, China.
³ Key Laboratory of JiangHuai Arable Land Resources Protection and Eco-Restoration, Ministry of Natural Resources P. R. C, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei, China.

Abstract

Lead (Pb) is one of the most common heavy metal pollutants in the environment, which can indirectly or directly threaten human health. Lead immobilization by apatite can reduce the effectiveness of Pb cations via the formation of pyromorphite (Pyro). However, the formation of Pyro is always depending on the release of phosphorus (P) from apatite. Phosphate-solubilizing fungi (PSF) can secrete large amounts of organic acid to promote the release of P from apatite. Although the combination of PSF and apatite has shown a huge potential in Pb remediation, this pathway needs to be more attention, especially for organic acid secretion by PSF. This research mainly reviews the possible pathway to strengthen Pb immobilization by PSF and apatite. Meanwhile, the limitation of this approach is also reviewed, with the aim of a better stabilizing effect of Pb in the environment and promoting the development of these remediation technologies.

Keywords: apatite; lead remediation; organic acid; phosphate solubilizing fungi; phosphorus release.

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the Science and Technology Major Project of Anhui Province (202103a06020012), the Program at the Department of Natural Resources of Anhui Province (No. 2021-K-4 and 2021-K-11), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 42007030), the Natural Science Foundation of Anhui Province (No. 2008085QD187) and the Program (No. yj 2019-20) at Anhui Agricultural University.