Beneficial role of plant growth promoting bacteria and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi on plant responses to heavy metal stress

Heavy metal pollution is a major worldwide environmental concern that has recently motivated researchers to develop a variety of novel approaches towards its cleanup. As an alternative to traditional physical and chemical methods of environmental cleanup, scientists have developed phytoremediation approaches that include the use of plants to remove or render harmless a range of compounds. Both plant growth promoting bacteria (PGPB) and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) can be used to facilitate the process of phytoremediation and the growth of plants in metal-contaminated soils. This review focuses on the recent literature dealing with the effects of plant growth-promoting bacteria and AM fungi on the response of plants to heavy metal stress and points the way to strategies that may facilitate the practical realization of this technology.