The effects of different lead concentrations on selected fungi isolated from an abandoned copper mining site in Zambales

• Main Authors: Caseres, Michael Kevin, Habacon, George Vincent, Pantas, Jim Paulo
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 2008
• Subjects: Soil fungi > Zambales (Philippines); Soils > Trace element content; Biology
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etd_bachelors/8930
• Institution: De La Salle University

Four fungal species were selected from isolates obtained from soil samples collected from an abandoned copper mining site in Zambales. The four isolated fungi used in the study were Rhizopus sp., Chrysosporium sp., Trichophyton sp. and one unidentified species. These species were grown in different lead nitrate concentrations. One way ANOVA showed that colony diameter for the four fungal species were significantly reduced at 10-2 M lead concentration. The Inhibition Growth Rate (IGR) for each fungal isolate was highest at 10-2 M. The highest IGR was observed in Rhizopus sp. (75%) and lowest in the unidentified fungi (18.24%). External changes in the colony morphology were also observed in the 10-2 M concentration. For Trichophyton sp., green spore heads developed in the center of the colony and no radial furrows were observed while for the unidentified species, the colony changed its color from yellow to white. However, microscopic analysis of the fruiting bodies and hyphae of all fungal strains exhibited no significant changes in their diameter. The unidentified species produced rings and red pigments in the agar with 10-3 and 10-2 M of lead nitrate. Lead uptake of Chrysosporium sp. and Rhizopus sp. significantly increased as the lead concentration increased.