Psychrophilic fungi in xenobiotics biodegradation

Abstract

The amount of harmful xenobiotics in ecosystems is constantly increasing due to the high availability and use of detergents, pesticides, pharmaceuticals, solvents, and crude oil. Chemicals such as phenol, monocyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, aliphatic hydrocarbons, and organophosphorus compounds are extremely stable at low temperatures due to their increased density and lower bioavailability. One of the effective methods of environmental cleaning may be bioremediation, based on the biological decomposition of contaminants, that is their transformation by microorganisms into less harmful or harmless forms. Mainly mesophilic bacteria were used in this direction, but research shows that also psychrophilic and psychrotrophic fungi and yeasts can efficiently biodegrade xenobiotics. This ability is attributed, among others, to species of the genera: Alternaria, Aspergillus, Geomyces, Lecanicillium, Mortierella, Mucor, Penicillium, Candida, Cryptococcus, Exophiala, Pichia, Rhodotorula, Schizoblastosporion, Solicoccozyma, Trichosporon and Yarrowia. These microorganisms are potential candidates for bioremediation of pollutants, despite the fact that for some species the enzyme complex involved in the degradation of xenobiotics has not been investigated.