Abstract
Ten fungal species isolated from two oilseeds crops were tested for their abilities to grow and degrade three types of petroleum hydrocarbons. The capabilities of Aspergillus and Penicillium species to degrade crude oil were compared, and their mycelial biomass was determined. Isolates were varied in their ability to degrade such materials with different concentrations. Penicillium isolates no. C2-C19 and Aspergillus isolates no. F8-F23 were the superlative bio-degraders of engine oil while C2-F8 were the best degraders of benzene. However, biodegradation effectiveness fluctuated according to type and concentration of hydrocarbon. Microsatellite-primed PCR (MSP-PCR) analysis was applied for identification and characterization of the pre-selected isolates. MSP-PCR showed low variation among the tested isolates, indicating close relationship among them. Unweighted Pair-group Method with Arithmetic Averages (UPGMA) cluster analysis based on Pearson Similarity Coefficient showed that the isolates were grouped into two main clusters with similarity value of 41.4-100%. There was a clear-cut genetic marker obtained to differentiate between low and high hydrocarbon-degrading fungi. Computer-assisted cluster analysis of MSP-PCR profiles has been shown to have a remarkable congruence with cluster analysis of hydrocarbon-degradation profiles. Results presented in the current study show that the utilization of the different hydrocarbons varies widely among the fungi isolated.