Effect of chelaters on bioaccumulation of Cd (II), Cu (II), Cr (VI), Pb (II) and Zn (II) in Galerina vittiformis from soil

Remediation of heavy metal contaminated soil and water streams are of great necessity as heavy metals are toxic and pose hazardous ecological impacts. Low cost mitigation measures like phytoremediation and mycoremediation are commonly employed. Mycoremediation using macro fungi (mushroom) have proven to provide effective tolerance using an efficient accumulation mechanism in removing heavy metals from soil. The current paper reports the heavy metal remediation potential of macro fungi on soil artificially contaminated with 50 mg kg(-1) of Cu (II), Cd (II), Cr (VI), Pb (II), and Zn (II) ions. Galerina vittiformis belonging to Strophariacea family was found to be effective in removing the heavy metal from the soil under study within 30 days. Both chemical and biological chelaters at 1, 5, and 10 mmol kg(-1) concentrations were found to increase the mycoremediation potential of the organism. This study showed that G. vittiformis are efficient in remediating heavy metal from contaminated soil and that their remediation potential can be enhanced by the addition of chelaters. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.