Studies on some fungi utilizing hydrocarbons and their role in biodegradation of petroleum pollution.

Abstract

This study included four main parts :

First part : Survey of the mycoflora of contaminated soil and marine water by crude oil and their products in Yemen . In this part, both mesophilic and thermophilic (or thermotolerant) fungi were surveyed in 53 soil samples collected from Sana'a, Taiz and Al-Hudaydah Governorates. The water samples (20 samples) were collected from Gulf of Aden and Red Sea. Isolation were performed on two isolation media, glucose- and crude oil- Czapek's agar at two incubation temperatures ( 28°C & 45°C).

The following results were obtained :

1- Sixty-five species belonging to 23 genera were isolated and identified in the present investigation . 2- All of the isolated species, except Cladosporium resinae, were previously isolated from different sources in Egypt and some Arabic countries .

3- Aspergillus (16 species),

' Penicillium

(17 species) and Mucor

(4 species) were the most prevalent genera from soil and water samples on the two isolation media at 28°C.

4- Between the isolated fungi from oil polluted soil and water , three fungal species (Acremonium rutilum, Penicillium paxilli and Trichoderma hamatum) were isolated only from water samples, 3 9 fungal species were only identified fom soil. On the other hand,

19 fungal species were isolated from both soil and water.