Soil fungi: Potential mycoremediators of lignocellulosic waste

Abstract

The continual expansion of urbanization and industrial activity has led to the accumulation of a large quantity of lignocellulosic residues throughout the world. In particular, large quantities of paper and bagasse are largely produced in Visakhapatnam. In this work we present the study of the degradability of these substrates with fungi. Three cultures of soil fungi were screened for their ability to degrade cellulose. Aspergillus flavus degraded the most, as shown by the highest CO2 release. Further, Aspergillus flavus was tested with the standard fungus Phanerochaete chrysosporium for cellulose degradation, which showed nearly equivalent potential.