Table 2 The most studied microorganisms for bioremediation of some heavy metals

Cadmium (Cd)

Fuel combustion, zinc smelting, and E-waste

E. coli, Bacillus subtilis, Pseudomonas putida, Pseudomonas aerogenosa, Citrobacter spp., S. cerevisiae, Aspergillus niger, Rhizopus arrhizus, Stereum hirsutum, Phormidium valderium, Klebsiella planticola, Nostoc sp., Chlorella vulgaris, Azospirillum lipoferum, Rhizobium leguminosarum, Alcaligenes faecalis

Favero et al. (1991), Gabriel et al. (1994, 1996), Sharma et al. (2000), Sar and D'Souza (2001), Rajendran et al. (2003), Vinopal et al. (2007), Deng et al. (2007), Wu et al. (2007), Bondarenko et al. (2008), Ivask et al. (2011), Kumaran et al. (2011), Goher et al. (2016), Tan et al. (1994), Gomaa et al. (2012), Gomaa et al. (2016)

Copper (Cu)

Mining, electroplating, and smelting operations

Bacillus spp., Micrococcus sp., Staphylococcus sp., Citrobacter spp., Flavobacterium sp., Desulfovibrio desulfuricans, Alcaligenes faecalis, Pseudomonas aerogenosa, Bacillus firmus, Arthrobacter, Aspergillus versicolor, Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus lentulus, Sphaerotilus natans, Chlorella vulgaris, Zooglea spp., Spirogyra sp., Spirulina sp., Pleurotus osteatus, Stereum hirsutum

Gabriel et al. (1994, 1996), Philip et al. (2000), Sar and D'Souza (2001), Rajendran et al. (2003), Shipra et al. (2011), Kim et al. (2015), Kumar et al. (2011a, b), Marzan et al. (2017), Salehizadeh and Shojaosadati (2003), Kumaran et al. (2011), De et al. (2008), Pepper et al. (2011), Taştan et al. (2010), Achal et al. (2011), Ashokkumar et al. (2017), Parvathi et al. (2007), Iqbal and Edyvean (2004), Javaid et al. (2011), Mane and Bhosle (2012), Goher et al. (2016)

Chromium (Cr)

Industrial coolants, leather tanning, and mining

Acinetobacter sp., Streptomyces sp., Pseudomonas aerogenosa, Bacillus sp., Staphylococcus sp.

Singh et al. (2013), Nayak et al. (2018), Chaturvedi (2011), Kumar et al. (2011a, b), Seema and Alok (2012), Bhattacharya et al. (2015), Bhattacharya and Gupta (2013), Zakaria et al. (2007), Benazir et al. (2010)

Mercury (Hg)

Electrical appliances and thermal power plants

Pseudomonas aerogenosa, Kliebsiella pneumonia, Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Vibrio fluvialis, Bacillus licheniformis, Citrobacter spp., Candida parapsilosis, Ganoderma applantus, Rhizopus arrhizus, Chlorella vulgaris,

Favero et al. (1991), Gabriel et al. (1994, 1996), Rajendran et al. (2003), Jafari et al. (2015), Al-Garni et al. (2010), Muneer et al. (2013), Saranya et al. (2017)

Zinc (Zn)

Electroplating and smelting

Pseudomonas aerogenosa, Bacillus spp., Chlorella vulgaris, Aspergillus niger, Pleurotus ostreatus, Volvariella volvacea, Nostoc sp. Azospirillum lipoferum, Rhizobium leguminosarum

Gabriel et al. (1994, 1996), Philip et al. (2000), Yan and Viraraghavan (2001), Rajendran et al. (2003), Kumaran et al. (2011), Gomaa et al. (2012)

Lead (Pb)

Coal-based thermal power plants, smelting operations, and E-waste

Staphylococcus spp., Streptomyces spp., Citrobacter spp., Pseudomonas sp., Micrococcus sp., Bacillus firmus, Ganoderma applanatum, Phormidium valderium, Rhizopus arrhizus, Chlorella vulgaris, Volvariella volvacea, Nostoc sp.

Favero et al. (1991), Gabriel et al. (1994, 1996), Yan and Viraraghavan (2001), Rajendran et al. (2003), Kumar et al. (2011a, b), Marzan et al. (2017), Salehizadeh and Shojaosadati (2003), Kumaran et al. (2011)