Advances in the application of endophyte on the remediation in heavy metal contaminated soils

Endophyte is an endosymbiont, often bacterium or fungus, that lives within plant tissues cells or tissues space for at least part of its life, without causing apparent disease. Due to its heavy metals resistance ability not only crating toxicity to the host plants, but also by various mechanism such as nitrogen fixation, solubilization of minerals, production of phytohormones, siderophores, utilization of 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid as sole N source and transformation of nutrient elements, endophyte innovates new ways for heavy metal bio-remediation in the contaminated soils and water. In this review we highlight the diversity and plant growth promoting features of metal resistant endophytic bacteria and discuss their potential in phytoextraction of heavy metals from contaminated soils.