Consumption of polythene is unavoidable in this era and it is increasing day by day. Polythene’s hazardous waste is adversely effecting environment. In fact any form of polythene is a nuisance to the environment because of strong resistance against degradation thus; they remain in nature for a very long time. Biodegradation is the only promising solution to overcome this problem.  Fungi, a group of saprophytic organisms are evolved to adapt for almost every environment, specially marine and freshwater source. This property drives fungi to grown on polythene even in adverse environment. So, present study was planned to compare biological degradation of low density polythene [LDPE] and biodegradable polythene by potential fungus to find out an eco-friendly and economic solution of polythene waste. Ten fungal strains were isolated from rotting polythene debris those are Penicillium chrysogenum, Rhizopus nigricans, Chaetomium murorum, Memnoniella echinata, Aspergillus fumigatus, Stachybotrys chartarum, Aspergillus niger, Chaetomium globosum, Aspergillus flavus and Fusarium oxysporum, in which Penicillium chrysogenum, Rhizopus nigricans, Aspergillus fumigatus, Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus flavus showed greatest results in terms of degrading both Low density polythene and biodegradable polythene. These isolates also showed good enzymatic reaction and weight loss. SEM analysis of polythene surface was also in support of these findings.

The present study has used soil samples from Nigeria, contaminated with Brass crude-oil, to determine its biodegradation through enhanced biostimulation with cow dung and periodic aeration. Over a period of twenty-eight days, the hydrocarbon-utilizing bacteria (HUB) and hydrocarbon-utilizing fungi (HUF) have been counted and identified. Results from biodegradation of the brass crude-oil over the aforementioned period show that amended crude-oil-spiked soil has had 54.82% degradation while for amendment and periodic turning this has been 55.90%, not significantly higher than the former at p≤0.05. Also degradation of spiked soil without cow dung amendment has been 16.13%. The identified HUB are Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Bacillus subtilis, and Streptococcus thermophillus, with individual occurrence of 18.52% as well as Proteus vulgaris and Micrococcus luteus with 11.11% and 14.81% occurrence, respectively. Also, the occurrence rate of HUF like Aspergillus flavus, A. niger, Penicillium chrysogenum, Trichothecium roseum, and Penicillium citrinum have been 15.63% each;whilefor Alternaria alternata and Neurospora crazza it has been 6.25% and for Saccharomyces cerevisae and A. fumigatus, 9.38%and3.13%, respectively. The study concludes that amendment with cow dung and periodic turning of the soil enhance degradation of Brass crude-oil significantly. What is more, aeration by periodic turning slightly improves degradation only with cow dung treatment on Days 21 and 28.

Fungi are successful microorganisms in the bioremediation of environmental pollution. So, this study aimed to determine the potential of Trichoderma tomentosum to remediate cadmium, lead, and nickel contaminations from potato dextrose agar (PDA) and potato dextrose broth (PDB) media. Growth rates, toxicity tolerance sporulation, bio-sorption capacity, and bio-sorption efficiency of the fungus were evaluated under different concentrations of CdCl2, Pb(NO3)2, and NiCl2. The findings demonstrated that the growth rate of the fungus differed depending on concentration, metal type, and medium. More metals in PDA medium induced more inhibition on fungus growth rates; however, the rate was independent from the heavy metals concentrations in PDB medium. Cadmium was the most toxic metal tested against T. tomentosum, with a 72h LC50 of 37 ppm. It was about 3.16 and 4.24 times as toxic as nickel and lead, respectively. In the control condition, sporulation of the fungus began at 72 hours, but under the heavy metals, it began at 168, 168, and 192 hours, respectively, for Pb, Ni, and Cd. Both the bio-sorption capacity and efficacy of the fungus were significantly enhanced by an increase in metal content and the highest values were obtained at 200 ppm of the salts. The heavy metals total bio-sorption capacity order was Ni < Cd < Pb in the aqueous medium. The conclusion was that T. tomentosum has a greater potential for the biosorption of heavy metals; hence, the fungus may be employed for the bioremediation of heavy metals from polluted sites, particularly wastewater and industrial influents.

Bioremediation has become a trending and developing field in environmental restoration through the use of micro-organisms to utilize and reduced the concentration and toxicity of various chemical pollutants. This study is on bioremediation of hydrocarbon-polluted soils using some agricultural wastes. Ninety (90) plastic buckets were filled with 4kg each of the composite soil. The soil contained in the plastic buckets was spiked with 250ml crude oil, except in the unpolluted plastic buckets (0%) crude oil. The agro-wastes (plantain stem sap, bush mango peels, and fruited pumpkin husk powder) in single and combined forms were applied after 14 days soil pollution. The amendments were applied as follows: Pristine control (0% agro-wastes), crude-oil control (0% agro-wastes), 150g, 250g, and 350g of the agro-wastes. Soil samples were collected at 90 days for soil microbial counts and the total hydrocarbon content of the soil. Data collected were subjected to 2-way ANOVA. The result showed that the microbial population in the crude-oil polluted soil amended with different agricultural wastes significantly increased (p<0.05) the total heterotrophic and crude oil utilizing bacterial and fungal counts in the soils and the increase in microbial population result in a significant reduction in total hydrocarbon content (THC) of the soils. The reduction in the THC of the soil was treatment dependent. It is, therefore concluded that based on the efficiency of these agro-wastes in enhancing microbial degradation, further studies should be carried out on the enzyme activities and production of bio-surfactant from the wastes to shorten the degradation time.

Processes of transformation of organic matter are slowed down so that cellulose which originates from cell walls of Sphagnum is retained long in unchanged form. The highest valises of cellulolytic bacteria (0.33-126.67 bact/ml) were recorded in October. In most cases slightly active species were found, Cellvibrio fulvus was dominant. The participation of fungi in cellulolytic community was significant 23-31.5.

Denitrification, as both origins and sinks of N₂O, occurs extensively, and is of critical importance for regulating N₂O emissions in acidified soils. However, whether soil acidification stimulates N₂O emissions, and if so for what reason contributes to stimulate the emissions is uncertain and how the N₂O fractions from fungal (ffD) and bacterial (fbD) denitrification change with soil pH is unclear. Thus, a pH gradient (6.2, 7.1, 8.7) was set via manipulating cropland soils (initial pH 8.7) in North China to illustrate the effect of soil acidification on fungal and bacterial denitrification after the addition of KNO₃ and glucose. For source partitioning, we used and compared SP/δ¹⁸O mapping approach (SP/δ¹⁸O MAP) and acetylene inhibition technique combined isotope two endmember mixing model (AIT-IEM). The results showed significantly higher N₂O emissions in the acidified soils (pH 6.2 and pH 7.1) compared with the initial soil (pH 8.7). The cumulative N₂O emissions during the whole incubation period (15 days) ranged from 7.1 mg N kg⁻¹ for pH 8.7–18.9 mg N kg⁻¹ for pH 6.2. With the addition of glucose, relative to treatments without glucose, this emission also increased with the decrement of pH values, and were significantly stimulated. Similarly, the highest N₂O emissions and N₂O/(N₂O + N₂) ratios (rN₂O) were observed in the pH 6.2 treatment. But the difference was the highest cumulative N₂O + N₂ emissions, which were recorded in the pH 7.1 treatment based on SP/δ¹⁸O MAP. Based on both approaches, ffD values slightly increased with the acidification of soil, and bacterial denitrification was the dominant pathway in all treatments. The SP/δ¹⁸O MAP data indicated that both the rN₂O and ffD were lower compared to AIT-IEM. It has been known for long that low pH may lead to high rN₂O of denitrification and ffD, but our documentation of a pervasive pH-control of rN₂O and ffD by utilizing combined SP/δ¹⁸O MAP and AIT-IEM is new. The results of the evaluated N₂O emissions by acidified soils are finely explained by high rN₂O and enhanced ffD. We argue that soil pH management should be high on the agenda for mitigating N₂O emissions in the future, particularly for regions where long-term excessive nitrogen fertilizer is likely to acidify the soils.

Imazalil (IMZ) is an imidazole fungicide commonly used by fruit-packaging plants (FPPs) to control fungal infections during storage. Its application leads to the production of pesticide-contaminated wastewaters, which, according to the European Commission, need to be treated on site. Considering the lack of efficient treatment methods, biodepuration systems inoculated with tailored-made inocula specialized on the removal of such persistent fungicides appear as an appropriate solution. However, nothing is known about the biodegradation of IMZ. We aimed to isolate and characterize microorganisms able to degrade the recalcitrant fungicide IMZ and eventually to test their removal efficiency under near practical bioengineering conditions. Enrichment cultures from a soil receiving regular discharges of effluents from a FPP, led to the isolation of a Cladosporium herbarum strain, which showed no pathogenicity on fruits, a trait essential for its biotechnological exploitation in FPPs. The fungus was able to degrade up to 100 mg L⁻¹ of IMZ. However, its degrading capacity and growth was reduced at increasing IMZ concentrations in a dose-dependent manner, suggesting the involvement of a detoxification rather than an energy-gain mechanism in the dissipation of IMZ. The isolate could tolerate and gradually degrade the fungicides fludioxonil (FLD) and thiabendazole (TBZ), also used in FPPs and expected to coincide alongside IMZ in FPP effluents. The capacity of the isolate to remove IMZ in a practical context was evaluated in a benchtop immobilized-cell bioreactor fed with artificial IMZ-contaminated wastewater (200 mg L⁻¹). The fungal strain established in the reactor, completely dominated the fungal community and effectively removed >96% of IMZ. The bioreactor also supported a diverse bacterial community composed of Sphingomonadales, Burkholderiales and Pseudomonadales. Our study reports the isolation of the first IMZ-degrading microorganism with high efficiency to remove IMZ from agro-industrial effluents under bioengineering conditions.

Co-contamination of organic pollutants and heavy metals is universal in the natural environment. Dibutyl phthalate (DBP), a typical plasticizer, frequently coexists with cadmium (Cd) in nature. However, little attention has been given to the impacts of co-contamination by DBP and Cd on microbial communities or the responses of microbes. To address this, a microcosm experiment was conducted by supplying the exogenous DBP-degrading bacterium Glutamicibacter nicotianae ZM05 to investigate the interplay among DBP-Cd co-contamination, the exogenous DBP-degrading bacterium G. nicotianae ZM05, and indigenous microorganisms. To adapt to co-contamination stress, microbial communities adjust their diversity, interactions, and functions. The stability of the microbial community decreased under co-contamination, as evidenced by lower diversity, simpler network, and fewer ecological niches. Microbial interactions were strengthened, as evidenced by enriched pathways related to microbial communications. Meanwhile, interactions between microorganisms enhanced the environmental fitness of the exogenous DBP-degrading bacterium ZM05. Based on co-occurrence network prediction and coculture experiments, metabolic interactions between the non-DBP-degrading bacterium Cupriavidus metallidurans ZM16 and ZM05 were proven. Strain ZM16 utilized protocatechuic acid, a DBP downstream metabolite, to relieve acid inhibition and adsorbed Cd to relieve toxic stress. These findings help to explain the responses of bacterial and fungal communities to DBP-Cd co-contamination and provide new insights for the construction of degrading consortia for bioremediation.

The accumulation of arsenic in crop plants has become a worldwide concern that affects millions of people. The major source of arsenic in crop plants is irrigation water and soil. In this study, Serendipita indica, an endophytic fungus, was used to investigate the protection against arsenic and its accumulation in the tomato plant. We found that inoculation of S. indica recovers seed germination, plant growth and improves overall plant health under arsenic stress. A hyper-colonization of fungus in the plant root was observed under arsenic stress, which results in reduced oxidative stress via modulation of antioxidative enzymes, glutathione, and proline levels. Furthermore, fungal colonization restricts arsenic mobilization from root to shoot and fruit by accumulating it exclusively in the root. We observed that fungal colonization enhances the arsenic bioaccumulation factor 1.48 times in root and reduces the arsenic translocation factor by 2.96 times from root to shoot and 13.6 times from root to fruit compared to non colonized plants. Further, investigation suggests that S. indica can tolerate arsenic by immobilizing it on the cell wall and accumulating it in the vacuole. This study shows that S. indica may be helpful for the reduction of arsenic accumulation in crops grown in arsenic-contaminated agriculture fields.

To elucidate the molecular composition and sources of organic aerosols in Central Asia, carbonaceous compounds, major ions, and 15 organic molecular tracers of total suspended particulates (TSP) were analyzed from September 2018 to August 2019 in Dushanbe, Tajikistan. Extremely high TSP concentrations (annual mean ± std: 211 ± 131 μg m⁻³) were observed, particularly during summer (seasonal mean ± std: 333 ± 183 μg m⁻³). Organic carbon (OC: 11.9 ± 7.0 μg m⁻³) and elemental carbon (EC: 5.1 ± 2.2 μg m⁻³) exhibited distinct seasonal variations from TSP, with the highest values occurring in winter. A high concentration of Ca²⁺ was observed (11.9 ± 9.2 μg m⁻³), accounting for 50.8% of the total ions and reflecting the considerable influence of dust on aerosols. Among the measured organic molecular tracers, levoglucosan was the predominant compound (632 ± 770 ng m⁻³), and its concentration correlated significantly with OC and EC during the study period. These findings highlight biomass burning (BB) as an important contributor to the particulate air pollution in Dushanbe. High ratios of levoglucosan to mannosan, and syringic acid to vanillic acid suggest that mixed hardwood and herbaceous plants were the main burning materials in the area, with softwood being a minor one. According to the diagnostic tracer ratio, OC derived from BB constituted a large fraction of the primary OC (POC) in ambient aerosols, accounting for an annual mean of nearly 30% and reaching 63% in winter. The annual contribution of fungal spores to POC was 10%, with a maximum of 16% in spring. Measurements of plant debris, accounting for 3% of POC, divulged that these have the same variation as fungal spores.