Extraction of copper and iron from soil with siderophores of fluorescent pseudomonads

Due to the application for more than 100 years of copper to French vineyards to combat fungal diseases of vines copper levels have been reported in vineyard soils up to several hundred milligrams of copper/kg of soil. There are now concerns about the ecotoxicity effects of copper accumulation. One potential way to remediate copper accumulation is phytoextraction. Furthermore, there may be potential to enhance the phytoextraction process by augmenting the process using beneficial bacterial species. Our research has involved investigating the potential to use fluorescent pseudomonads, a key group of bacteria that produce siderophores (iron-scavenging compounds), to enhance phytoextraction of …