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Bioremediation Abilities of Antarctic Fungi

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Fungi in Extreme Environments: Ecological Role and Biotechnological Significance

Abstract

As a consequence of human activities in Antarctica, the use of fuels (for transportation and energy production), waste incineration, sewage production, and accidental oil spills are considered the main sources of anthropogenic contaminants in this extremely cold environment. Also, heavy metals, antibiotics, pesticides, and other persistent pollutants can reach the Antarctic continent through aerial transportation and marine currents. Nevertheless, Antarctica is one of the best places when looking for cold-adapted fungi with bioremediation abilities. The focus of this book chapter is the study of yeasts isolated from Antarctica and their possible use for bioremediation. Special attention is given to two groups: firstly, yeasts able to assimilate phenol and tolerate all tested heavy metal, as they could be valuable as inoculant for wastewater treatment in cold environments, and secondly, yeasts able to assimilate n-hexadecane and produce lipase and esterase, as these enzymes are related with the bioremediation of aliphatic hydrocarbons. One selected yeast, Pichia caribbica, is able to assimilate several n-alkanes and diesel fuel and also produce lipase and esterase. These combined with its high level of biomass production and the extended exponential growth phase make it a promising tool for cold environment biotechnological purposes in the field of cold enzyme production and oil spill bioremediation as well. This review provides an insight into the analysis of psychrophilic/psychrotolerant pollutant-degrading yeast isolated from a peculiar cold and isolated region: Antarctica. Next step should be focused on in situ experimentation in Antarctica, with the aim to make human presence there as imperceptible as possible and to maintain the primeval characteristics of its biodiversity and environment.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto Antártico Argentino (IAA), General San Martín, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    María Martha Martorell, Lucas Adolfo Mauro Ruberto & Walter Patricio Mac Cormack

  2. Universidad de Buenos Aires, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina

    María Martha Martorell, Lucas Adolfo Mauro Ruberto & Walter Patricio Mac Cormack

  3. Instituto de Nanobiotecnología (NANOBIOTEC-UBA-CONICET), Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Lucas Adolfo Mauro Ruberto

  4. Planta Piloto de Procesos Industriales Microbiológicos (PROIMI-CONICET), San Miguel de Tucumán, Tucumán, Argentina

    Lucía Inés Figueroa de Castellanos

  5. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán (UNT), San Miguel de Tucumán, Tucumán, Argentina

    Lucía Inés Figueroa de Castellanos

Authors
  1. María Martha Martorell
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  2. Lucas Adolfo Mauro Ruberto
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  3. Lucía Inés Figueroa de Castellanos
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  4. Walter Patricio Mac Cormack
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Natural Sciences, University of Michigan-Dearborn, Dearborn, MI, USA

    Sonia M. Tiquia-Arashiro

  2. Institute of Biology, University of Graz, Graz, Austria

    Martin Grube

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Martorell, M.M., Ruberto, L.A.M., de Castellanos, L.I.F., Cormack, W.P.M. (2019). Bioremediation Abilities of Antarctic Fungi. In: Tiquia-Arashiro, S., Grube, M. (eds) Fungi in Extreme Environments: Ecological Role and Biotechnological Significance. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-19030-9_26

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