Metal biorecovery and bioremediation: Whether or not thermophilic are better than mesophilic microorganisms

•Thermophiles and mesophiles share similar metal-resistance strategies.•Mesophiles seem to be more tolerant to metals than thermophiles.•Thermophiles are successfully used in metal biorecovery and/or bioremediation processes.•High temperature helps to attack recalcitrant compounds in bioprocesses.•Ubiquitous presence of thermophiles favors their use in in-situ bioremediation processes.