Bioremediation of marine environment could be the response to oil spills threats. In the present study the fungal community from a Mediterranean marine site chronically interested by oil spills was investigated. Sixty-seven taxa were isolated from water sample and 17 from sediments; for many of the identified species is the first report in seawater and sediments, respectively. The growth of 25% of the fungal isolates was stimulated by crude oil as sole carbon source. Four strains were selected to screen hydrocarbons degradation using the 2,6-dichlorophenol indophenol (DCPIP) colorimetric assay. A. terreus MUT 271, T. harzianum MUT 290 and P. citreonigrum MUT 267 displayed a high decolorization percentage (DP≥68%). A. terreus displayed also the highest decreases of hydrocarbons compounds (up to 40%) quantified by gas-chromatography analysis. These results suggest that the selected fungi could represent potential bioremediation agents with strong crude oil degradative capabilities.

Fungi play irreplaceable roles for ecosystem functioning. They may adopt different lifestyles, for example saprotrophs, symbionts or parasites: some species are cosmopolitan with a wide distribution and others, thanks to their ecological plasticity, may adapt to harsh environments precluded to most of life forms. In stressing conditions, their role is even more crucial for the recycling of organic matter or favoring nutrients uptake. When the conditions become really extreme and competition is low, fungi focus on extremotolerance and evolve peculiar competences to exploit natural or xenobiotic resources in the particular constrains imposed by the environment. This paper focuses on three different cases of fungal life in the extremes: hydrocarbon-polluted sites, extremely acidic substrates, and littoral dunes, aiming to give few but significant examples of the role of these fascinating organisms in peculiar habitats and the valuable biotechnological potentialities of the abilities they have evolved in response to such constrains.

Twelve basidiomycetes were investigated for their ability to degrade 13 industrial dyes and to treat four model wastewaters from textile and tannery industry, defined on the basis of discharged amounts, economic relevance and representativeness of chemical structures of the contained dyes. The best degradation yields were recorded for one strain of Bjerkandera adusta able to completely decolourise most of the dyes and to decolourise and detoxify three simulated wastewaters, showing a significant physiological versatility which is very useful for application purposes. The effects of different nutrient sources were investigated in order to optimize the yields of decolourisation and detoxification. Manganese-peroxidase and manganese-independent peroxidase were the only recorded enzymatic activities. In order to evaluate its true bioremediation potential, this strain was packed in a fixed-bed bioreactor, for treatment of large volumes of a real wastewater. The fungus resulted effective during 10 cycles of decolourisation, remaining active for a very long period, in non-sterile conditions.