Obligate Marine Fungi and Bioremediation

Abstract

Marine fungi are an ecologically and physiologically defined group and are not restricted to any particular taxonomic group. They comprise an estimated 10,000 species and occur on various substrata in the marine environment. They are implicated in the production of organic detritus through degradation of dead organic remains and are involved in nutrient recycling thus supporting a large animal community including commercial fisheries by acting as breeding and nursery grounds besides providing nutrients to the plants in the coasts (e.g., mangroves and halophytes) for growth. Two techniques are adopted in studying marine mycota, namely, (1) direct examination method that leads to detection of obligate marine fungi and (2) isolation of fungi from marine sediments and marine waters that leads to retrieval of common terrestrial fungi such as Aspergillus and Penicillium. While the former are considered as obligate marine fungi, the latter are known as marine-derived fungi. This chapter is concerned with the obligate marine fungi. More than 80% of the marine fungi belong to the group Ascomycota. These marine ascomycetes have been reported to be producing ligninolytic enzymes which otherwise is considered as a domain of white rot basidiomycetous fungi. A few studies on bioremediation using marine fungi show promising prospects. These include biopulping, biobleaching, and dye decoloration. Human disturbances such as sewage and industrial effluent discharge, oil spills, and leachates containing pesticides are ever increasing in the marine environment. The prospects of obligate marine fungi in bioremediation are discussed in this chapter.