Fungi were isolated from soil polluted with tannery waste and soil devoid of tannery wastes. The fungi isolates were screened for their ability to grow in minimal salt medium (MSM) with the tannery effluents using spectrophotometer at 530 nm wavelength. The identities of fungi isolates were confirmed using conventional and molecular genome techniques. The fungi isolated from tannery waste polluted soil included Aspergillus and Penicillium with 2 (20%) occurrence each, and 1 (10%) occurrence for each of Cladosporium, Mucor, Geotricum, Rhizopus and Microsporum sp., while in the soil devoid of tannery practices fungal isolate included Aspergillus 3 (30%), Rhizopus 1 (10%), Fusarium 1 (10%), Penicillium 1 (10%), Mucor 1 (10%) and Trichoderma 1 (10%). The optical density of the fungi isolated revealed 1.330 and 1.373 for Aspergillus aculeatus and Aspergillus niger, respectively and rDNA gene fragments confirmed Aspergillus sp. The study depicts the ability of these Aspergillus strains with strong bioremediation potentiality.
Key words: Fungi, Aspergillus, Tannery waste, Soil, Pollution
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