Full Length Research Paper

Pre-screening of filamentous fungi isolated from a contaminated site in Southern Brazil for bioaugmentation purposes

Elisane Odriosolla dos Santos¹, Célia Francisca Centeno da Rosa¹, Cátia Tavares dos Passos¹, Ana Virgínia Ladeira Sanzo², Janaína Fernandes de Medeiros Burkert¹, Susana Juliano Kalil² and Carlos André Veiga Burkert¹*

¹Bioprocess Engineering Laboratory, Federal University of Rio Grande, 96201-900, Rio Grande, RS, Brazil.

²Microbiology Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, Federal University of Rio Grande, 96201-900, Rio Grande, RS, Brazil.

*Corresponding author. E-mail: burkert@vetorial.net. Tel: +55 53 32338754. Fax: +55 53 32338720.

Accepted 19 December, 2007

Four Aspergillus sp. strains were isolated from contaminated soil in Rio Grande, Southern Brazil. The biodegradation potential of these strains was evaluated using a simple method involving the determination of colony growth rates on plates containing a specific hydrocarbon or petroleum derivative as the only carbon source. The LEBM1 strain presented a high tolerance level to BTX. It was the only strain capable of growth on all the media, with growth rates varying from 1.3 to 2.2 mm/day. The LEBM2 strain presented the potential for phenol degradation, while the LEBM3 strain could be used for gasoline, diesel oil, hexane and chlorobenzene.

Key words: Bioremediation, bioaugmentation, biodegradation, hydrocarbons, filamentous fungi, colony growth rate.