1. Mycoremediation: Fungi as Friends not Foes
Oil being absorbed by mushroom mycelium. Retrieved from .

2. What is Mycoremediation?
Mycoremediation = Fungal Bioremediation = use of fungi to clean up contaminated sites
Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs): Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs), Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), Pentachlorophenol (PCP), pesticides (esp. DDT and endosulphan)
Industrial wastes: heavy metals, synthetic dyes, other wastewaters
Munitions and explosives
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, commonly known as PAHs, are poorly soluble and hydrophobic organic compounds that are found globally in vast and persistent quantities (Leitão, 2009). Most commonly found in petroleum products, coal tar, and shale oil and can be released into the atmosphere from fossil fuel combustion (Tortella et al., 2005). PCBs, or scientifically referred to as polychlorinated biphenyls, were popularly in capacitors and transformers, hydraulic fluid, solvent extenders, and flame retardants used since the late 1920s until the 1970s (Tortella et al., 2005). Pentachlorophenol, or PCP for short, has been used as a wood preservative, fungicide, bactericide, herbicide, algaecide, and insecticide and has long been raising environmental concerns (Tortella et al., 2005). Pentachlorophenol, or PCP for short, has been used as a wood preservative, fungicide, bactericide, herbicide, algaecide, and insecticide and has long been raising environmental concerns (Tortella et al., 2005). Pesticide use has drastically increased with the growth of industrial farming and as a result excess runoff of pesticides cause contamination of surrounding soils and groundwater (Tortella et al., 2005). Most pesticide are biodegradable on their own after a certain time, however organochlorinated pesticides, including DDT and endosulphan, are persistent within the environment and create toxic havoc to the environment’s biota through biomagnification in high trophic levels (Tortella et al., 2005). The four main sources of heavy metals in the environment are acid mine drainage from mining operations, wastes electroplating industry waste solutions, coal-based power generation, and nuclear power generation from uranium mining and that associated waste generation (Leitão, 2009). Heavy metals that harm the environmental most significantly are cadmium, lead and mercury, as well as arsenic and chromium in high volumes (Leitão, 2009). Synthetic dyes are commonly leached into industrial wastewaters during the dying process in the biomedical, food products, plastic and textile industries (Pointing, 2001). Their low biodegradability and often time also toxic nature are a threat to healthy environments (Pointing, 2001). Munitions waste disposal continues to be a problem within the military because of non-environmentally friendly procedures for detonation and production of munitions (Tortella et al., 2005). Not only are the original munitions substances harmful to the environment, but the natural impurities and decomposed substances prove to be a threat as well (Pointing, 2001). The major munitions that require degradation processes are TNT, DNT and RDX explosives.

3. How Fungi Clean Up Our Mess
Adapt by temporarily altering their developmental patterns or modify their physical characteristics
Robust metabolism: convert contaminants into metabolites by use of enzymes (esp. laccase enzymes)
Filamentous structure
Mycelial fungal pellets
Extracellular enzymes are able to break down potential food sources and then can absorb these substances back into the fungal community (Tortella et al., 2005). Laccase enzymes promote the synthesis of many naturally occurring complexes, causing degradation (Tortella et al., 2005). The filamentous structure of certain fungi allows for filtration within its biomass allowing separation of different substances to be done with ease (Leitão, 2009). In addition, these filamentous fungi are less sensitive to nutrient, pH and temperature changes and therefore can be exploited to a diverse range of environments (Leitão, 2009). In addition, the presence of mycelia fungal pellets and their respective mechanisms are fungal tools for biodegradability in some fungi species (Baldrain, 2003).

4. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, commonly known as PAHs, are poorly soluble and hydrophobic organic compounds that are found globally in vast and persistent quantities (Leitão, 2009). Most commonly found in petroleum products, coal tar, and shale oil and can be released into the atmosphere from fossil fuel combustion (Tortella et al., 2005). Figure 2. [Photo on the top and inset] Oyster mushrooms growing on soil contaminated with oil (at 1–2% or 10,000–20,000 ppm). [Photo on the bottom] 16 weeks later soil toxicity has been so greatly reduced (to less than 200 ppm). Plants, worms, and other species have established in the treated soil while control piles remained toxic to plants and worms. From Ussery H. & Ussery E. (2005).

5. Synthetic dyes are commonly leached into industrial wastewaters during the dying process in the biomedical, food products, plastic and textile industries (Pointing, 2001). Figure 5. A visual observation of the dyes Reactive Red 198 (A), Reactive Blue 21 (B), Reactive Blue 214 (C), and a mixture MXD (D) decolorized by P. simplicissimum INCQS after 0 days (1), 2 days (2), 5 days (3), 7 days (4), and 14 days (5) of incubation. From Erden et al. (2009). As shown by Figure 5, the study of Penicillium simplicissimum and its decolorization ability of various dyes produced significantly lower toxicity results and produced visibly less concentrations of the respective dyes (Bergsten-Torralba et al., 2009).

6. Why Fungi to Clean Contaminated Environments
Biological treatments most cost-efficient
Versatile in chemical degrading abilities
Less sensitive to nutrient, pH and temp. changes
More research needed!
A biomonitoring applications for wood-rotting fungi have been mentioned as a possibility because of a clear relationship between heavy metal accumulation in these fungal fruit bodies and atmospheric pollution (Baldrain, 2003). Other biotic agents proved to show great potential at biodegrading industrial pharmaceutical drugs in wastewaters that contaminate groundwater and soils, however fungi are yet to be studied in this direction (Mansour et al., 2012). Certain fungi’s ability to grow easily in fermenters can be exploited for large-scale productions (Leitão, 2009).