Bioremediation of oil polluted marine sediments: A bio-engineering treatment

Three strategy rules of filamentous fungi in hydrocarbon remediation: an overview

Remediation of hydrocarbon contaminations requires much attention nowadays since it causes detrimental effects on land and even worse impacts on aquatic environments. Tools of bioremediation especially filamentous fungi permissible for cleaning up as much as conceivable, at least they turn into non-toxic residues with less consumed periods. Inorganic chemicals, CO2, H2O, and cell biomass are produced as a result of the breakdown and mineralization of petroleum hydrocarbon pollutants. This paper presents a detailed overview of three strategic rules of filamentous fungi in remediating the various aliphatic, and aromatic hydrocarbon compounds: utilizing carbons from hydrocarbons as sole energy, Co-metabolism manners (Enzymatic and Non-enzymatic theories), and Biosorption approaches. Upliftment in the degradation rate of complex hydrocarbon by the Filamentous Fungi in consortia scenario we can say, "Fungal Talk", which includes a variety of cellular mechanisms, including biosurfactant production, biomineralization, and precipitation, etc., This review not only displays its efficiency but showcases the field applications - cost-effective, reliable, eco-friendly, easy to culture as biomass, applicable in both land and any water bodies in operational environment cleanups. Nevertheless, the potentiality of fungi-human interaction has not been fully understood, henceforth further studies are highly endorsed with spore pathogenicity of the fungal species capable of high remediation rate, and the gene knockout study, if the specific peptides cause toxicity to any living matters via Genomics and Proteomics approaches, before application of any in situ or ex situ environments.

Hydrocarbon Degradation and Enzyme Activities of Aspergillus oryzae and Mucor irregularis Isolated from Nigerian Crude Oil-Polluted Sites

Many free-living saprobic fungi are nature recruited organisms for the degradation of wastes, ranging from lignocellulose biomass to organic/inorganic chemicals, aided by their production of enzymes. In this study, fungal strains were isolated from contaminated crude-oil fields in Nigeria. The dominant fungi were selected from each site and identified as Aspergillus oryzae and Mucor irregularis based on morphological and molecular characterization, with site percentage incidences of 56.67% and 66.70%, respectively. Selected strains response/tolerance to complex hydrocarbon (used engine oil) was studied by growing them on Bushnell Haas (BH) mineral agar supplemented with the hydrocarbon at different concentrations, i.e., 5%, 10%, 15%, and 20%, with a control having dextrose. Hydrocarbon degradation potentials of these fungi were confirmed in BH broth culture filtrates pre-supplemented with 1% engine oil after 15 days of incubation using GC/MS. In addition, the presence of putative enzymes, laccase (Lac), manganese peroxidase (MnP), and lignin peroxidase (LiP) was confirmed in culture filtrates using appropriate substrates. The analyzed fungi grew in hydrocarbon supplemented medium with no other carbon source and exhibited 39.40% and 45.85% dose inhibition response (DIR) respectively at 20% hydrocarbon concentration. An enzyme activity test revealed that these two fungi produced more Lac than MnP and LiP. It was also observed through the GC/MS analyses that while A. oryzae acted on all hydrocarbon components in the used engine oil, M. irregularis only degraded the long-chain hydrocarbons and BTEX. This study confirms that A. oryzae and M. irregularis have the potential to be exploited in the bio-treatment and removal of hydrocarbons from polluted soils.