MARINE FUNGI FROM A CRUDE-OIL POLLUTED SITE IN MEDITERRANEAN SEA: DIVERSITY AND SELECTION OF POTENTIAL BIOREMEDIATION AGENTS

Oil spill represents one of the main threats for marine ecosystems and human health. Nowadays different techniques contribute to crude oil removal although with several environmental inconvenients. Bioremediation the use of microorganisms to clean polluted environments, is an economic and environmental friendly method to counteract crude oil persistence in marine water. Since the mycoflora adapted to these extreme ecosystems is barely known, in the present study the fungal community of a Mediterranean marine site, chronically and recently interested by oil spills, was investigated and preliminary bioremediation tests were performed.