Abstract
BackgroundAlteration in the normal composition of gasses in the atmosphere referred to as air pollution can occur as a result of different processes, including emissions from vehicles and power generators. Gasses affect living things directly and indirectly by playing roles in respiration, membrane function, synthesis, and growth. The gasses contained in fumes emitted from vehicles and generators may likely have effect on microorganisms in the environment including microfungi. Two microfungi were selected to study the effect of generator emissions on their growth.ResultsThe gaseous emissions from power generators fueled by gasoline caused reduction in spore germination and germ tube lengths of R. stolonifer and F. oxysporum. For the former, spore germination decreased with length of exposure after an initial increase by ~ 100%. The fungus exhibited a single major germination peak at 10 min and a minor one at 30–35 min exposures. Germ tube length of the fungus also decreased with increased exposure. F. oxysporum too showed reduced spore germination and germ tube length with exposure but the fungus seemed to adjust better to the unfavorable environment created by emitted gasses showing multiple peaks of reduced heights as time progressed, though another rise that could reach a peak appeared at the 45-min maximum exposure for germ tube length. The peaks were however more broad for spore germination experiments indicating more stability in adjustment than observed for germ tube length. Greatest reduction in spore germination was by 25% in R. stolonifer and 71% in F. oxysporum Germ tube length reduction for R. stolonifer was by 24–76%, the greatest occurring at 35-min exposure, while for F. oxysporum it was 5–83%, the greatest occurring at 40 min exposure.ConclusionsThese observations reveal the toxicity of the gasses emitted to the growth of the two filamentous fungi and the potential harmful effect to other fungi which might be useful in the ecosystem as decomposers and to those that may be pathogenic to higher plants.
Highlights
Alteration in the normal composition of gasses in the atmosphere referred to as air pollution can occur as a result of different processes, including emissions from vehicles and power generators
Reduction in spore germination was by 5–25% in R. stolonifer while enhancement was by ~ 100%
Germ tube length of the fungus initially reduced by ~ 38% at 5 min exposure, it increased by the 10th minute exposure, before a consistently significant reduction up till 25 min
Summary
Alteration in the normal composition of gasses in the atmosphere referred to as air pollution can occur as a result of different processes, including emissions from vehicles and power generators. Since the atmospheric composition of gasses is significantly altered by fuel combustion in cities partly as a result of pollution from motor vehicles and power generators (Marais et al 2014), it is conceivable that this might affect certain aspects of fungal physiology. Vehicular emissions cause more air pollution than generators (Aliyu et al 2019) but for practical ease of testing microorganisms, the fumes from a generator will be employed to simulate the gasses from vehicle exhausts. Gas pollutants from both sources are similar (Marais et al 2014) though their concentrations differ. Power generators are increasingly being used in homes, offices, and production factories in Nigeria and the air in the surrounding environment is polluted by the fumes discharged from their exhausts
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