Isolation and screening of capable halotolerant fungi in hydrocarbon contaminations removal from aqueous environments

Bioremediation is an eco-friendly approach for oil contamination removal discarded into the environment. Fungi with their high extracellular enzymes production capability are efficient microorganisms in pollutant removal from environments. Therefore, this study was aimed at isolation of capable fungi in oil removal from some contaminated soils of Iran. Following serial dilution preparation of three collected soil samples, the samples were cultured on potato dextrose agar plates. Then, the isolates were evaluated for their growth in Bushnell Haas medium as the minimal salt medium containing 2% (v-v) crude oil as the sole source of carbon. To identify the selected fungal isolate, morphological studies were performed using an optical microscope. The isolation and screening process resulted in obtaining a fungal isolate with 78% capability in oil removal from the minimal salt medium. Morphological studies on the colonies appeared on potato dextrose agar plates and slide culture images showed that the isolate belongs to the genus, Aspergillus. Considering the significant efficiency of this fungi in oil removal from oil containing minimal salt medium as the sole source of carbon, Aspergillus sp. can be a suitable candidate for further investigations for application in oilcontaminated zones.

Keywords:

Oil pollutants , Aspergillus sp. , Bioremediation , Isolation