Taxonomic report of filamentous fungi presents in sewage waste sludge with biotechnologi-cal potential

Abstract

There is few information regarding the identification of filamentous fungi present in sewage sludge, the importance of these microorganisms lies in the potential use they have in the food, pharmaceutical and agri-environmental industries as they are beneficial in the remediation of water, sludge and soil contaminated by Heavy metals and hydrocarbons also contribute to the adsorption of nutrients by crops. The use of residual sludge once decontaminated by these microorganisms can be used in agriculture as soil structure improvers, organic fertilizers and as an amendment to prevent soil erosion. The objective of this research was to characterize and identify fast and medium-growing filamentous fungi from sewage sludge. The residual sludge was collected directly from the thickness of the municipal water treatment plant of Cd. Victoria, Tamaulipas, Mexico. Subsequently, the fungi were isolated on agar plates and identified using morphological characters of the colonies and by PCR and diana sequences. The species identified were: Trichoderma longibrachiatum, Aspergillus terreus, Tylopilus porphyrosporus and Aspergillus fumigatus. Being the first report for Mexico of fungal species that grow in residual sludge from water treatment plants. The molecular characterization of the species of filamentous fungi found in sewage sludge will allow progress in research focused on knowing the advantages and biological and chemical mechanisms of these microorganisms for the development of biotechnological processes and products, with high agricultural potential and environmental.