Abstract
The collapse of Samarco mining company's tailings dam in November 2015 is recorded as the most severe environmental calamity to ever occur in Brazil. The ensuing toxic sludge devastated towns along the Doce River, leaving an enduring legacy of socio-environmental and economic destruction. The Doce River basin continues to bear the scars of this disaster to this day. This study thus proposes to investigate the bioremediation potential of three Pleurotusspp. strains, assessing their physical-chemical parameters of pH and turbidity, as well as the ability of the tested isolates to eliminate toxic metals in solution, based on water samples collected in 2015 and 2018. The studied fungal strains tended to acidify the medium, lowering the pH of the samples. In raw water, these strains effectively removed turbidity, achieving a decline of 86.2-95.0% and 28.1-40.7% in the first and second collections, respectively. High concentrations of aluminum, arsenic, barium, lead, iron, and manganese were detected in the Doce River water samples through Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS). Batch system experiments showed that Pleurotus spp. could efficiently remove toxic metals from the solution in seven days of incubation, with average elimination rates ranging from 94.0-99.1% and 70.3-99.0% for the six evaluated elements in the 2015 and 2018 samples, respectively. Therefore, the findings suggest that the genus Pleurotusholds significant biotechnological promise for the bioremediation of contaminated or deteriorated waters.