Short Communication

Decolorization and degradation of malachite green by Aspergillus flavus and Alternaria solani

Hazrat Ali^*, Wesal Ahmad and Taqweemul Haq

Department of Biotechnology, University of Malakand, Chakdara, NWFP, Pakistan.

*Corresponding author: E-mail: hazratali80@yahoo.com. Tel: 92-346-9392395.

Accepted 3 February, 2009

Bioremediation using a variety of microbes for the degradation of xenobiotics seems a green solution to the problem of environmental pollution. Microbes have been gifted by nature with the ability of degrading a wide spectrum of environmental pollutants. Different fungi have the potentials to degrade complex and recalcitrant organic compounds into simpler fragments; sometimes achieving complete mineralization. In this work, we have investigated the decolorization and degradation of a triphenylmethane dye, malachite green by two fungal microorganisms, Aspergillus flavus and Alternaria solani. Both the species were able to decolorize different concentrations of malachite green (10 to 50 μM) almost completely (> 96 %) within 6 days.

Key words: Alternaria solani, Aspergillus flavus, Decolorization, degradation, malachite green.