Stress response and tolerance to hexachlorocyclohexane: soil fungal species isolated from contaminated areas of Italy and Czech Republic and their potential in fungal bioremediation

Fungi play important roles in soil, providing and supporting ecological services for ecosystems and human wellbeing (1, 2, 3). To date, the metabolic and morphological versatility of fungi underpins practically all bioremediation applications, but often is still untapped (1, 4, 5). They can tolerate extreme environmental conditions and survive in high concentrations of persistent organic pollutants (e.g. pesticides) by possessing mechanisms for the degradation, utilization and transformation of organic substrates (1, 4, 5). The study of soil microbial community represents an important step to shed further light on the environmental contest. In this research, we have isolated fungal species occurring in samples from sites of Italy and Czech Republic with high concentration of hexachlorocyclohexane. Isolates belonging to Ascomycota, Zygomycota and anamorphic fungi have been identified. Some of them have been reported in literature for the biotransformation of organic pollutants, such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and pesticides (1, 4, 5, 6). Moreover, we have investigated the tolerance of selected fungal species to different isomers of hexachlorocyclohexane by using tolerance indices (Rt:Rc; T.I.). For their adaptation to stressful environmental conditions, fungal species isolated from contaminated sites may provide opportunities for new environmentally-friendly, integrated and cost-effective approaches for environmental management and restoration.