Degradation of pyrene by indigenous fungi from a former gasworks site

Abstract

Indigenous fungi isolated from soil of a former gasworks site were investigated in submerged cultures with pyrene as the sole carbon source. Five fungal strains capable of degrading pyrene included one strain of Trichoderma harzianum and four strains with characteristics of the genus Penicillium. These are identified as Penicillium simplicissimum, Penicillium janthinellum, Penicillium funiculosum and Penicillium terrestre. A maximum of 75% of 50 mg l(-1) and 67% of 100 mg l(-1) of pyrene was removed by the fast degrading strain P. terrestre at 22 degrees C during 28 days of incubation. The slower degrader P. janthinellum was able to remove 57% of 50 mg l(-1) and about 31.5% of 100 mg l(-1) pyrene. Degradation of pyrene is directly correlated with biomass development. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that fungi have been reported to use pyrene as the sole carbon and energy source. They may be ideal candidates for effective bioremediation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.

Bioremediation of Oil Spill in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia by using Fungi Isolated from Polluted Soils

“…Aspergillus niger recorded the highest weight loss (5.6%), followed by the isolated fungi belongs to Aspergillus niger with higher activity followed by Lichtheimia ramosa and Penicillium documbens which were able to degrade 5.4% and 2.3% of crude oil, this results are closely similar to Al-Nasrawi, (2012) (Adekunle and Adebamo, 2007;Hadibarata and Tachibana, 2009a;Hadibarata, and Tachibana, 2009b;Adekunle, et al, 2004;Gesinde, et al, 2008;Atagana et al, 2006;Husaini, et al, 2009;Cristina Romero, et al, 2009;Saraswathy and Hallberg, 2002 ).…”

Biodegradation of Petrol Using the Fungus Penicillium sp.

“…Recently, many researchers studied the role 7,8,9 of fungi in the biodegradation of petroleum products and the most common fungi which have been recorded as a biodegrader belong to the following genera: Alternaria, Aspergillus, Candida, Cephalosporium, Cladosporium, Fusarium, Geotrichum, Gliocladium, Mucor, Paecilomyces, Penicillium, Pleurotus, Polyporus, Rhizopus, Rhodotolura, Saccharomyces, Talaromyces and Torulopsis . 3,4,10,11,12,13,14,15,16 The ability of most fungi to produce extracellular enzymes for the assimilation of complex carbohydrates makes possible the degradation of a wide range o f pollutants. They also have the advantage of being relatively easy to grow in fermenters, thus being suited for large scale production.…”

Aerobic Degradation of Petroleum Components by Microbial Consortia

“…Fungi have been found to be better degraders of petroleum than traditional bioremediation techniques including bacteria, and although hydrocarbon degraders may be expected to be readily isolated from a petroleum oil-associated environment [80,81]. The ability of most fungi to produce extracellular enzymes for the assimilation of complex carbohydrates makes possible the degradation of a wide range of pollutants.…”

“…The role of fungi in biodegradation process of petroleum products has been extensively studied and the most common fungi which have been recorded as a biodegrades belongs to following genera: Alternaria, Aspergillus, Candida, Cephalosporium, Cladosporium, Fusarium, Geotrichum, Gliocladium, Mucor, Paecilomyces, Penicillium, Pleurotus, Polyporus, Rhizopus, Rhodotolura, Saccharomyces, Talaromyces and Torulopsis [72][73][74][75][76][77][78][79][80][81].…”