Biodegradation of residual petroleum hydrocarbons by using fungal endophytes from the mangrove ecosystem

Abstract

Residual oil comprising of toxic elements can contaminate soil and water bodies. The accumulation of such effluents has a severe impact on the plant ecosystem, mainly mangroves. To escape from the ill effects of such contaminants, plants attain resistance from mutual partners. Biodegradation of such contaminants using micro-organisms is widely used by researchers to reveal the impact of micro-organisms to degrade petroleum hydrocarbons. In the present study, seven dominant fungal endophytes viz., Nigrospora sp., Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus sp., Curvularia sp., Pestalotiopsis adusta, Fusarium sp. and Cladosporium sp. isolated from mangrove habitat were screened for their ability to degrade residual petroleum hydrocarbons. The study confirms the ability of mangrove endophytes to degrade hydrocarbons. Further FT-IR spectroscopy was used as a preliminary tool to analyze the degraded hydrocarbon groups by the tested fungal endophytes within residual oil. Among the fungal isolates, Nigrospora sp. had the highest ability to degrade petroleum hydrocarbons, followed by Aspergillus sp., Curvularia sp., Pestalotiopsis adusta, Fusarium sp., Aspergillus niger and Cladosporium sp.