Molecular identification of mucoralean fungi isolated from the oil-polluted sites

Mucoralean fungi are a group of basal fungi related to zygomycetes which can be found in different environments all over the world. They are a part of fermented food production, secondary metabolites and enzymes. Considering their fast growth and their ability to produce a different sort of enzymes, we seek for their role in oil-polluted sites’ bioremediation. Using oil floating method, fungal isolates were collected and identified both morphologically and molecularly using ITS gene as a barcoding marker and phylogenetic tree. In total, 131 isolates were collected. Among them, 27 mucoralean fungi were listed as follows: Rhizopus (n=19), Mucor (n=4), Actinomucor (n=2), Lichtheimia, and Cunninghamella one isolate per each. These isolated strains from Iran were identified correctly based on molecular methods and then deposited in the culture collections of the Netherlands (Westerdijk Institute) and Warsaw University. Being isolated from oil-polluted environments, these isolates have bioremediation potentials.