Abstract
Features of basidiomycetes to improve remediation of oil-contaminated soil
Ability of definite strains of basidiomycetes to use oil components as the source of carbon in their lifesustaining activity is shown in the result of screening. Efficiency of these strains to remediate oil polluted soil was studied in laboratory conditions. It is shown that the fungi strains selected in the screening actively form colonies on oil-polluted substrates. Growth of air mycelium is possible not only on an oil- saturated substrate, but on a surface of an oil film as well. Besides, ability of the fungi to grow on a soil using petroleum hydrocarbons as the only source of carbon is shown. Mycelium is observed to grow both on the surface and in the bulk of the substrate. Ability to utilize hydrocarbons is shown in a model experiment for the following strains: basidiomycete belonging to the genus Trametes utilizes up to 39% with respect to control level of oil content in the soil and basidiomycete genus Fomitopsis utilizes up to 22%, respectively. Ability of basidiomycetes strains to maintain high oil oxidizing activity in the presence of natural soil microflora confirms their potential to be used in techniques of recultivation of oil-polluted soil both as a self-consistent method of bioremediation and in combination of other techniques of oil- polluted soil cleaning.
