Impact of heavy metals on crop microbiomes

Agriculture soil pollution with heavy metals is a serious risk to human health along with the environment. Cadmium, arsenic, lead, and other heavy metals can have a significant effect on agricultural microbiomes' functionality and composition. Crop microbiomes are seriously threatened by heavy metals because they reduce crop quality, production, and ecosystem health as a whole. Both native plant species and heavy metal contamination have an impact on soil microbial biodiversity. Some plants, such as Artemisia annua and Carex breviculmis, increase microbial diversity and richness in the rhizosphere, possibly because they accumulate more soil nutrients than they do lower heavy metal concentrations. In the rhizosphere, interactions between plants and microbes are essential for reducing the toxicity of heavy metals. Beneficial bacteria support bioremediation by using several detoxifying processes such as bioaccumulation and biosorption. Marine microorganisms, such as Bacillus subtilis and Pseudomonas fluorescens, assist plants tolerate heavy metal stress and provide ecological advantages by aiding in the cleanup of heavy metals in soil and water. Heavy metals have a variety of consequences on crop microbiomes. Elevated levels of heavy metals present in soils can exert selection pressure on the plant-associated bacterial population, causing a notable alteration in the taxonomic makeup and structural alterations. Some heavy metals, such as zinc, copper, cadmium, and mercury, can actually increase the variety and density of bacteria at lower amounts. An extensive review of the many facets of heavy metals' effects on agricultural microbiomes is given in this chapter. Creating solutions that effectively reduce heavy metal pollution and maintain crop output requires an understanding of the complex connections that exist between heavy metals, crop microbiomes, and beneficial bacteria. Handling heavy metal pollution in crop soils requires an understanding of the intricate relationships that exist between heavy metals, plants, and microorganisms. To understand the mechanisms by which heavy metals disrupt crop microbiomes and to create practical mitigation methods, further study is required.