ABSTRACT
Metal contamination is increasingly influencing soil habitats. In order to develop strategies for future land use and restoration of plant growth in such areas, a deeper understanding of the microbiology and the processes occurring in metal-contaminated soil is essential. Here, we review microbial communities in soil with special emphasis on heavy metal contamination through acid mine drainage that is associated with metal mining operations world over. Interactions with plant roots are one specific niche in soil, and hence, interactions between soil microbes and plant roots are covered. The changes that occur in soil when heavy metals are present and the mechanisms by which the microorganisms in the rhizosphere are responding to metal stress are discussed and methods compared that can be used to study microbial rhizosphere communities. An outlook on the application of the gained insight for bioremediation approaches, which are microbially aided or governed, is given at the end of this chapter.
