Bioremediation of heavy metal pollution utilizing composite microbial agent of Mucor circinelloides, Actinomucor sp. and Mortierella sp.

Microbial remediation of local microbes shows great application prospects for in situ remediation for heavy metal pollution especially in harsh soil conditions. Thermodynamics and kinetics of adsorption of Mucor circinelloides, Actinomucor sp and Mortierella sp were consistent with Langmuir adsorption isothermal model and Pseudo-second order kinetics model. Synergies of specific enzymes and organic acids may be the main physiological processes of microbial remediation. The efficiency of immobilization of heavy metals is up to 74.98% (Zn), 85.29% (Pb) and 79.41% (Mn) which shows high bioremediation effect of the composite microbial agent. Microbial remediation of Mucor circinelloides, Actinomucor sp and Mortierella sp not only effectively reduce the heavy metal activity, but also significantly shorten the remediation period and improve the poor habitat of mine tailings. More interestingly, the study reveals that microbial diversity and community structure sensitively respond to the bioremediation process. This study demonstrates that changes of microbial community can be used to real-time monitoring the bioremediation process.