As shown throughout this review, populations of both actinobacteria
and yeasts that can survive and even flourish in environments
contaminated with heavy metals have been isolated and
identified by our research group. It appears that these microorganisms
indigenous to our region have evolved a variety of mechanisms
for metal uptake and homeostasis. Thus, their metal
processing capabilities could be used to concentrate, remove and
recover metals from contaminated sites and thereby enhance the
efficiency of treatment processes. These studies seem to be highly
promising in terms of the creation of platforms that encourage the
development of bioremediation processes using native microorganisms.
The most important characteristic of this approach is that
the system is environment friendly. However, more studies are
required to develop and improve future applications of metalresistant
microbes for cleaning up polluted environments, and we
are continuing to work on this subject.