Flora of soil fungi in Khuzestan province's oil regions

Many Species of fungi with ability to metabolize of petroleum hydrocarbons are known so far. These fungi are resistant in oil contaminated sites.This investigation aims at studying fungal population diversity in oil contaminated soils of Khuzestan province and identifying fungal flora in these regions. Crude oil contaminated soil samples were collected from different regions of Khuzestan province. For isolation and enumeration of total heterotrophic fungi, Potato Dextrose Agar medium supplemented with streptomycine was used. The isolated fungi were identified via morphological studies, staining by lactophenol cotton blue, observation with a light microscope and comparing with descriptive and canonizative refereces. Total fungal counts ranged from 0.41 × 102 to 3333.33 × 102 CFU/g. Isolated fungi belong to Aspergillus, Penicillium, Fusarium, Candida, Rhodotorula, Aureobasidium, Mucor, Rhizopus and Acremonium. Most dominant genera were Aspergillus and Penicillium. Discussion and Studies on isolation of fungi in oil containing environments showed that, abundance and fungal diversity in different stations significantly were different. The increase in the number of fungi in crude oil soils showes the probability of degradation and consumption of oil contaminated by fungi. Diversity and distribution of soil microbial population are determined by a number of environmental factors such as pH, electrical conductivity and soil organic matter.