SCREENING OF MUTANT FUNGI ISOLATED FROM ROMI RIVER FOR POTENTIAL TO DEGRADE REFINERY EFFLUENT

Abstract

Environmental pollution implies any alterations in the surroundings; but it is restricted in use, especially to mean any deterioration in physical, chemical and biological qualities of the environment. This present study was carried out with the aim to screen and mutate fungi consortia isolated from Romi river for potential to degrade refinery effluent. Refinery effluent samples were collected aseptically into sterile bottles from under the storage tank in Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company (KRPC) Kaduna State, Nigeria using aseptic technique into sterile bottles. Physicochemical analysis was carried out using standard methods. Mycological analyses of the samples including the mutation of the fungal isolates were carried out using standard techniques. Identification of the mutated fungi isolated was achieved using both conventional and molecular technique. Results of the physicochemical properties of the samples indicated that most of the parameters were within the acceptable limit set by standard organizations, and parameters supported the survival and proliferation of the fungi. It was observed that Aspergillus niger had the highest percentage occurrence across the sampling sites (29.55%), followed by Aspergillus quadrilineatus (27.77%), Aspergillus fumigatus (22.73%), and Aspergillus versicolor (20.45%). In this study, A. versicolor and A. quadrilineatus were sensitive to UV radiation. There was moderate to maximum growth observed after eight days of screening.