Population analysis and potential biodegradative applications of fungi from three differently polluted sites in the Tyrrhenian Sea

Seas, the last frontier. To date, only 20.6% of the ocean floor has been accurately mapped[1], and hundreds of new species are discovered every year. Fungi, which are known for their extreme adaptability and for producing different bioactive compounds, are no exception. This study is focused on the isolation and the characterisation of the marine mycobiota present in the sediments on three different sites (Leghorn Port, off the coast of Leghorn and the Meloria Shoals Marine Protected Area). Furthermore, chemical analyses of the sediments were carried out and revealed the presence of high concentrations of both organic (i.e. benzo[a]pyrene, benzo[b]fluoranthene) and inorganic (i.e. Cr, Cu, Ni) pollutants in the Leghorn Port. The isolation phase was performed by using a soil dilution plate technique on different culture media (MEA, CMA, SNA) in order to maximise the number of isolates. Fungi were identified using a polyphasic approach involving morphological and molecular analysis. The fungal strains from the Leghorn Port could potentially be of particular interest, as they are likely to be equipped with particular enzymes or compounds to survive such a polluted environment. Therefore, fungal oxidative ability was first tested on MS-GP agar media supplemented with guaicol, syringaldazine and ABTS, to assess the production of enzymes such as laccases, oxygenases or peroxydases[2]. Then, the biodegradative performance of the most active ones was verified by the degradation of dyes with different redox potentials (methyl red, malachite green, reactive blue 4). Preliminary results have shown that 26 out of 74 tested fungi produced oxidative enzymes. Further studies are needed to fully identify the enzymes and their degradative capabilities.