Sediments from 8 river mouths of the Catalonian coast (Spain) were examined for keratinolytic fungi. Out of 1250 river and marine samples examined, 499 (39.9%) were positive for these fungi. Aphanoascus fulvescens (anamorph + teleomorph), Chrysosporium keratinophilum, Ch. tropicum, Ch. an. of Arthroderma curreyi, Ch. pannicola, Ch. europae and Ch. indicum were the predominant species in the sediments. River samples were rich in keratinolytic fungi, whereas in marine beach sediments they occurred sporadically. The results of a preliminary experiment demonstrated that, marine water exerted a dramatical impact on river keratinolytic fungi causing their total or near-total elimination. The qualitative and quantitative compositions of river keratinolytic mycoflora depended on the degree of water contamination with sewage and on natural factors (mainly temperature). The keratinolytic mycoflora of two rivers was possibly altered dramatically by water contaminants, including poisons of industrial origin, and marine salinity. The problem of public health risk resulting from the distribution of keratinolytic fungi within the highly-frequented recreational waters is discussed.

Improving the competitiveness of biodiesel production by microalgae cultures requires the application of several strategies to obtain a high content of lipids, rapid biomass growth and a capacity to adapt to different kinds of environment, with the aim of using non-renewable nutrient sources. Therefore, the use of an individual indigenous microalgae strain or a consortium from natural or anthropogenic sites is now considered an alternative for biofuel production. This study examined the temporal behaviour of secondary metabolites produced by a native microalgae and yeast consortium isolated from wastewater, which was characterized by a genetic identification method based on the MiSeq system. The predominant species in the consortium was Scenedesmus obliquus, representing 68% of the organisms. In addition, the consortium contained a number of yeast species, including Candida pimensis (43%), Arthroderma vanbreuseghemii (23%), Diaporthe aspalathi/Diaporthe meridionalis (25%) and Hericium americanum (3%). This indigenous co-culture of microalgae and yeast showed biomass productivity of 0.06 g l⁻¹ day⁻¹, with a content of 30% (w/w) carbohydrates, 4% (w/w) proteins and 55% (w/w) lipids. Transesterification of the extracted lipids produced fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs), which were analysed by gas chromatography (GC). The FAMEs included methyl pentadecanoate (1.90%), cis-10-pentanedecanoic acid methyl ester (1.36%), methyl palmitate (2.64%), methyl palmitoleate (21.36%), methyl oleate (64.95%), methyl linolenate (3.83%) and methyl linolelaidate (3.95%). This composition was relevant for biodiesel production based on the co-culture of indigenous microalgae and yeast consortia.