Mycoremediation

Each and every organisms in this world has its significant role.What we have to do is just identify it intellectually.Fungi have unexpected remediation property.

1. MYCOREMEDIATION By RATNAKAR UPADHYAY

2. INTRODUCTION The term  Mycoremediation  was coined by Paul Stamets   “ Mukes ” is the greek word which means “Fungus”, & the suffix “ remedium ” means “ restoring balance”. Form of Bioremediation in which fungi based technology is used to decontaminate the environment. Fungi have been proven to be a very cheap, effective and environmentally way to remove toxin from damaged environment or waste water. Mycoremediation – a cheaper solution to remediation.It is often used in small scale application such as mycofiltration of domestic waste water. Mycoremediation is even profitable as the byproduct of it is valuable like- laccase enzyme, edible or medicinal mushrooms. Enzymes of fungi are non specific & are able to breakdown many kinds of substance. The toxin include- heavy metal, persistent organic pollutant, textile dyes, chemicals from leather tanning industries, polycyclic aromatic compound , pesticides

3. Mycoremediation has been divided into three general categories- The target compound is used as carbon source. The target compound is enzymatically attacked but is not used as carbon source.( Cometabolism ) The target is not metabolized at all but is taken up & concentrated within the organisms (Bioaccumulation). The attributes that distinguishes filamentous fungi from other life forms to determine why they are good biodegraders - 1. The mycelial growth habit. 2.The high Surface to Cell ratio that maximizes both mechanical & enzymatic contact with the environment. 3.The extracellular nature of the degradative enzymes enables fungi to tolerate higher concnetration of toxic chemicals.

4. FUNGAL DEGRADATION- PROCESSES SUBSTRATE SPECIES COMPOSTING Straw, manure , agricultural waste & bark Consortia of Fungi uncharacterized MUSHROOM CULTIVATION Lignocellulose , Animal manure, Straw, Saw dust, Wood logs. Agaricus bisporus Pleurotus ostreatus Lentinus odoides SOLID WASTE TREATMENT Sludge/ Sewage Pulp & Paper mill effluent Consortia of Fungi Coriolus versicolor Phanerochaete c hrysoporium WASTE WATER TREATMENT Distellary waste kraft bleaching effluent Tannery effluent Yeast especially Candida utilis Phanerochaete chrysosporium Aspergillus , Penicillium

5. One of the primary roles of fungi in the ecosystem is decomposition, which is performed by the mycelium. The mycelium secretes extracellular enzymes and acids that break down  lignin  and  cellulose , the two main building blocks of plant fiber. These are organic compounds composed of long chains of  carbon  and  hydrogen , structurally similar to many organic pollutants. The key to Mycoremediation is determining the right fungal species to target a specific pollutant. In an experiment conducted in conjunction with  Thomas , a major contributor in the bioremediation industry, a plot of soil contaminated with  diesel  oil was inoculated with mycelia of  oyster mushrooms ; traditional bioremediation techniques (bacteria) were used on control plots. After four weeks, more than 95% of many of the PAH ( polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons ) had been reduced to non-toxic components in the mycelial -inoculated plots. It appears that the natural microbial community participates with the fungi to break down contaminants, eventually into carbon dioxide and water. Wood-degrading fungi are particularly effective in breaking down aromatic pollutants (toxic components of  petroleum ), as well as chlorinated compounds.

6. MUSHROOM AS MYCOREMEDIATION TOOL Remediation through fungi is also called as mycoremediation . Mycoremediation tool refers to mushrooms and their enzymes due to having ability to degrade a wide variety of environmentally persistent pollutants, transform industrial and agro-industrial wastes into products. MYCOREMEDIATION POTENTIAL OF MUSHROOM Mushroom uses different methods to decontaminate polluted spots and stimulate the environment. These methods include - ( i ) Biodegradation (ii) Biosorption (iii) Bioconversion.

7. S. no. Mushroom spp. Waste/Pollutants Remarks 1. Pleurotus ostreatus (OYSTER MUSHROOM) Oxo -Biodegradable plastic Mushrooms degraded the plastic and grew on it. 2. Lentinula edodes 2,4-dichlorophenol Mushrooms degraded 2,4-dichlorophenol (DCP) by using vanillin as an activator 3. Pleurotus pulmonarius Radioactive cellulosic-based waste Waste containing mushroom mycellium was solidified with portland cement and then this solidified waste act as first barrier against the release of radiocontaminants 4. jelly  sp.,  Schizophyllum commune  and  Polyporous  sp malachite green 99.75% ( Jelly  sp.), 97.5% ( Schizophyllum commune) , 68.5% ( Polyporous  sp.2) dye was degraded in 10 days 5. Pleurotus pulmonarius crude oil crude oil was degraded 6. Coriolus versicolor PAH Mushroom possesses ability to degrade Poly-R 478 which decides its suitability to degrade PAH.

8. VARIOUS CATEGORIES OF WASTES TREATED BY FUNGI - Fungal treatment of industrial waste. Fungal treatment of distillery & brewery waste. Fungal metabolism of Petroleum Hydrocarbon. Fungal degradation of polychlorinated Biphenyls & Dioxins. Fungal degradation of Pesticides. Fungal degradation of Phenols, Chlorophenols , & Pentachlorophenols . Fungal metabolism of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon. Fungal Lignin degradation & decolorization of pulp & Paper Mill Effluents. Fungal Degradation of dyes. Fungal Biosorption of Heavy Metals. Mycorrhizal Fungi in Rhizosphere remediation.

9. Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon PAHs - Class of ubiquitous xenobiotic environmental pollutants, detected in several aquatic & terrestrial ecosystems. E.g. Naphthalene, Acenaphthene , Anthracene , Phenanthrene SOURCE - 1.Incomplete combustion of fossil fuels. 2.Cigarette smoke 3.Accidental discharge of petroleum products 4. Burning of agricultural & forest residues. Fungal Species- Zygomycete - Cunninghamella elegans Ascomycete - Aspergillus niger , Penicillium spp . Basidiomycete - Phaenerochaete chrysosporium

10. PESTICIDES - FUNGUS PESTICIDE MEDIUM Metabolic Products Phanerochaete chrysosporium DDT (insecticide) N-deficient cultures Dicofol , DBP Trichoderma harzianum Endosulfan (insecticide) Sucrose mineral medium Endosulfan sulfate, Endosulfan diol Cunninghamella elegans Alachlor (herbicides) Sabouraud dextrose broth Four metabolites Pleurotus pulmnonarius Atrazine (herbicides) Soild state fermentation CAIT Coriolus versicolor Iprodione Biobed matrix C. elegans Vinclozolin Sabouraud dextrose broth Four metabolites

11. BIOSORPTION & BIOACCUMULATION OF HEAVY METALS - The biological removal of metals from solutions can be divided into three categories- Biosorption of metals,ions on the surface of fungi (ii) Intracellular uptake of metal ions. (iii) Chemical transformation of metal ions by fungi. A variety of fungi such as Pleurotus , Aspergillus , Trichoderma , has proven to be effective in the removal of Pb , Cd,Ni,Cr,Hg,As,Cu,B,Fe,Zn , in marine environment, waste water and on land. The capacity of metals uptake of mushroom has also been use to recover precious metals from medium VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland reported an 80% recovery of gold from E-waste using mycofiltration technique.

12. FUTURE PERSPECTIVES- Trichoderma herzianum appears to be promising fungal species to introduce into rhizospheres for enhanced degradation of pesticides. Development of hybrid and improved strains by protoplast fusion & genetic recombination of filamentous fungi can be a great alternative. At present computer models are unknown in biosorption technology , but there is great scope for the exploitation of computer models based on metal interaction. The role of fungi in the sorption of heavy metals may lead to the development of emerging technology for the treatment of mineral processing waste water.

13. REFERENCE Singh,Harbhajan,2006,John Willey & Sons.INC.,publication

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