CONTAMINACIÓN AMBIENTAL POR METALES PESADOS EN MÉXICO: PROBLEMÁTICA Y ESTRATEGIAS DE FITORREMEDIACIÓN

Heavy metal pollution is a growing problem due to anthropic activities such as mining. The most hazardous metals in Mexico are mercury, arsenic, lead, and chromium. States like Zacatecas, Queretaro, Hidalgo, and San Luis Potosi have been affected by the pollution of soils with heavy metals. In this sense, phytoremediation has emerged as an alternative to solve this problem. In Mexico, plant species with metal accumulative capacity have been identified. These include Scirpus americanus, Typha latifolia, Jatropha dioica, Eichhornia crassipes and Amaranthus hybridus . Metal phytoextraction could be improved by coupling bioaugmentation of soil microorganism. Bacteria from the genus R hizobium, Agrobacterium, Arthrobacter, Microbacterium, Curtobacterium, Rhodococcus, Xanthomonas and Pseudomonas , have shown promising results enhancing heavy metal phytoextraction, as well as the arbuscular fungi from the Glomus genus. However, more studies on endemic plants and microbial from contaminated sites are needed to optimize current treatment strategies.