Lead pollution and bacterial bioremediation: a review

Environmental pollution by lead is an old, still unsolved health issue, calling for advanced remediation strategies. Here, we review lead toxicity, lead bioremediation with bacteria, and topics such as efflux, biosorption, exopolysaccharide, bioprecipitation, biomineralization, bioaccumulation and sequestration. Bacteria tune their response at the molecular level by expressing specific genes and proteins to combat lead toxicity. Biosorption and bioprecipitation can be used successfully to clean polluted environments. Bacterial bioremediation can be combined with phytoremediation for more effective bioremediation. Bacterial lead bioremediation is limited by environmental conditions, nutrients availability and the presence of other pollutants bacterial growth.

Automated summary

Lead pollution remains a long-standing and unresolved health issue, requiring advanced remediation strategies. Bacteria can effectively clean polluted environments through bioremediation techniques, but their growth is limited by environmental conditions, nutrient availability, and the presence of other pollutants.