Electronic and electrical wastes (EEW) have increased exponentially in recent years due to technological progress. The uncontrolled incineration of these wastes causes pollution of air, soil, and water that has dangerous effects on health of human beings and other living organisms. This work isolated fungi that are capable of degrading some of these electronic wastes. In this study, fungi isolated from soil polluted by EEW were grown on potatoes dextrose agar (PDA) medium. The estimation of the biodegradation was achieved by inoculation of both rechargeable batteries and printed circuit boards on a minimum solid and liquid medium with selected fungal strains. During the process of biodegradation on solid medium, microscopic observation was done, and on liquid medium the production of keratinolytic enzymes was evaluated using a colorimetric method after incubation with keratine powder. After 30 days, the obtained results showed that Geotrichum candidum is capable of degrading battery and circuit boards with rates of 23% and 71%, respectively, while Rhizopus stolonifer reduced battery weight by 7% and printed circuit boards by 60%. Microscopic observations showed no morphological modification in Geotrichum candidum, while there was sporocyst formation in Rhizopus stolonifer. The detection of enzymatic production indicated that there is a relation between the biodegradation process of electronic wastes and keratinolytic enzymes in Geotrichum candidum.

The Metal pollution is one of the major risks in the world nowadays. Iron is an essential metal for growth and proliferation of a vast majority of organisms, but it can be toxic to human health and other living beings in the environment at high concentrations due to its increased industrial activity. Fungi have a remarkable capacity to uptake and detoxify iron metal using different mechanisms such as bioaccumulation. Thus, the aim of this work is to study the ability of iron uptake by the fungal strains isolated from Arcelor Mittal -Annaba-in Algeria. Three strains were screened at high concentration of iron (1 g/l) and their capacity to uptake iron has been studied on Czapek Yeast Agar medium. The amounts of uptaken iron ions were estimated in the same liquid medium using Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS). The results of the iron uptake by these screened strains showed that Cladosporium cladosporioides uptakes the highest concentration of iron (347.7 ppm), Aspergillus niger was able to accumulate up to 170 ppm of this metal while, the lowest uptake of this metal was shown by Penicillium citrinum with 106.43 ppm. It was found that the spore germination of three fungal strains was low when the medium is supplemented with high concentrations of iron. This indicated the potential of these fungal strains as biological agents for removal of iron from the industrial effluents containing high concentrations of it.

Environmental pollution by heavy metals is a recent global problem threatening human life through the food chain. The used of fungi provides an alternative solution to eliminate these heavy metals. The current study aims to study the change of secondary metabolic pathways of fungal strain tolerant of Zinc metal. Penicillium chrysogenum selected strain was isolated from the sand of beaches polluted with Zinc at East Algerian area. The optimization of Penicillium chrysogenum strain was carried out on Czapek Yeast Agar medium (CYA) at different temperature and pH values. The effect of Zinc on the production of secondary metabolites by Penicillium chrysogenum strain was determined on solid medium, Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC) plate and High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC). The results revealed that Penicillium chrysogenum strain can develop in a wide range of temperature and pH with an optimum of 28 ° C and 6. It is capable to tolerate high concentrations of Zinc (up to 1400 mg.l-1).This study showed that high concentrations of Zinc (1200 and 1400 mg.l-1) have a positive effect on antibiotic production, but they have a negative effect on the mycotoxin production except to neoxaline.

The surface mycosis of skin, hair and nails are common infections in the world. They are due to the several molds and yeasts. The main agent responsible for these affections is the dermatophytes: filamentous fungi which live in depending on the keratin of the cornea layer, the skin and the superficial growths of human and animal. Their distributions vary from one country to another and area to another in the same country, according to the climate of each area and favors factors development of these fungi. The dermatophytes pose serious problems of health. The thhhThe aim of the present study is to evaluate the inhibitory effect of aqueous extracts of three plants against three dermatophytic species induce dermatophytosis in the area of Annaba "East of Algeria", isolated from patients reached of the dermatophytosis. We have isolated three species (Trichophyton rubrum, Trichophyton verrucosum and Microsporum ferrugeneum) using Sabouraud Dextrose Agar medium (SDA), that were tested with crude extracts of three plants; Allium sativum (garlic), Nerium oleander (oleander), and Eucalyptus sp. (eucalyptus). The method applied was the solid state dilutions. The obtained results showed that all extracts examined reduced growth of mycelium compared to the controls. It was found that garlic crude extracts proved the highest growth inhibition against the three species (38, 59% to 100%), followed by eucalyptus with 60% to 80%, whereas, oleander reduces the growth with 50% to 60%.

Low density polyethylene (LDPE) is the most abundant non-degradable plastic waste. Widely used in packaging material, it represents a serious threat to all ecosystems. In the present study, a Rhizopus sp. fungal strain was isolated from soil of a landfill located in north-east Algeria and cultured on potato dextrose agar. The in vitro biodegradability of pieces of the same plastic bag (0.2, 0.4, and 0.6 g) was estimated in minimal liquid medium and on minimal solid medium. Furthermore, biodegradation of plastic bag pieces was examined in seawater, tap water and soil. The isolated Rhizopus sp. strain could degrade the plastic bag waste. The highest in vitro rate occurred in the minimal liquid medium for both the 0.4-g and 0.6-g pieces (a 20% decrease in weight). In natural media, the highest weight decrease was different depending on the substrate: 5% in seawater for the 0.2-g piece, 10% in tap water for the 0.4-g piece and 8% in soil for the 0.4-g piece. This strain could also form a biofilm in Malt Extract Broth (MEB). These results revealed that the isolated Rhizopus sp. strain has considerable biodegradative ability based on different measures.