Assessment of Total Petroleum Hydrocarbon Degradation by Endophytic Fungi Isolated from Water Hyacinth (Eichhornia Crassipes)

Petroleum exploitation has negative impacts on the environment, such as oil spills, likewise, health implications on humans. The ability of newly isolated six fungal endophytes for degrading total petroleum hydrocarbons was evaluated. Their ability for hydrocarbon biodegradation was assessed in vitro for 35 days, using the minimal salt medium incorporated with products of crude oil, like petrol, kerosene, diesel, spent engine oil, unspent engine oil as the carbon source. Each fungus was introduced into test tubes containing minimal salt medium and petroleum products, the tubes were then incubated on shaker incubator at 27ºC, 151rpm for 35days. At every 7days, turbidity was measured with photoelectric colorimeter at wavelength of 530nm. In this study, the petroleum hydrocarbon degrading fungi isolated from Water Hyacinth leaves were identified using morphological techniques. The six fungi isolated were identified as; Aspergillus niger, Penicillium canescens, Penicillium atrovenetum, Trichocladium opacum, Thermomyces lanuginosus and Penicillium spp. In this experiment, it was evident that all the fungi were able to utilize hydrocarbons for their growth, at different rates. Aspergillus niger demonstrated high capacity to biodegrade diesel and spent engine oil, Penicillium canescens was excellent to utilize petrol, while Penicillium atrovenetum had the potential to degrade unspent engine oil and kerosene. The results obtained suggest that these endophytic fungal isolates are potential hydrocarbon biodegraders that could be used in bioremediation processes.