Evaluation of oil removal efficiency and enzymatic activity in some fungal strains for bioremediation of petroleum-polluted soils

Petroleum pollution is a global disaster and there are several soil cleaning methods includingbioremediation.in a field study, fugal strains were isolated from oil-contaminated sites of arak refinery (iran) and theirgrowth ability was checked in potato dextrose agar (pda) media containing 0-10% v/v crude oil, the activity ofthree enzymes (catalase, peroxidase and phenol oxidase) was evaluated in the fungal colonies and bioremediationability of the fungi was checked in the experimental pots containing 3 kg sterilized soil and different concentrationsof petroleum (0-10% w/w).four fungal strains, acromonium sp., alternaria sp., aspergillus terreus and penicillium sp., were selected asthe most resistant ones. they were able to growth in the subjected concentrations and alternaria sp. showed thehighest growth ability in the petroleum containing media. the enzyme assay showed that the enzymatic activitywas increased in the oil-contaminated media. bioremediation results showed that the studied fungi were able todecrease petroleum pollution. the highest petroleum removing efficiency of aspergillus terreus, penicillium sp.,alternaria sp. and acromonium sp. was evaluated in the 10%, 8%, 8% and 2% petroleum pollution respectively.fungi are important microorganisms in decreasing of petroleum pollution. they have bioremediationpotency that is related to their enzymatic activities.