ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Microbiol.
Sec. Microbiotechnology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2025.1696000
This article is part of the Research TopicMicroorganisms Coupled with Functional Materials for Environmental Pollution Control and RemediationView all articles
Pb immobilization by phosphate-solubilizing fungi and fluorapatite under different Mn2+ concentrations
Provisionally accepted
- 1Nanjing Institute of Environmental Science, Nanjing, China
- 2Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei, China
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Abstract: Phosphate-solubilizing fungi (PSF) are commonly employed in the bioremediation of lead contamination through the production of organic acids. However, the secretion of organic acids by PSF is typically affected by various environmental factors. This study investigated the Pb removal process by typical PSF A. niger and P. chrysogenum under different Mn2+ concentrations (0-30 mg/L). The different concentrations of Mn2+ can significantly influence the Pb toxicity tolerance of PSF. PSF A. niger exhibits a stable Pb removal ratio of >99% under different Mn2+ concentrations, much higher than P. chrysogenum <90%. The high concentrations of Mn2+ (15 and 30 mg/L) both inhibited the secretion of organic acids by A. niger and P. chrysogenum. However, 7.5 mg/L Mn2+ can significantly increase the secretion of oxalic acid by A. niger and promote the formation of lead oxalate and pyromorphite. Only 2.25% Pb2+ is released again from the immobilized Pb minerals. Meanwhile, PSF has the highest pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH) enzyme activities of 31.53 and 17.23 nmol/min/g in 7.5 mg/L Mn2+ treatment. Compared with P. chrysogenum, A. niger is more effective in removing and stabilizing Pb cations. Controlling the appropriate Mn2+ concentration can further improve the Pb bioremediation by PSF.
Keywords: Phosphate-solubilizing microorganisms, heavy metals, Pb remediation, organic acid, Manganese
Received: 31 Aug 2025; Accepted: 16 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Zhang, Guan, Yan, Sun, Xu, Zhang, Tian and He. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Da Tian, tianda90@hotmail.com
Yue He, heyue@nies.org
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