A new facultative anaerobic filamentous fungus capable of growth on recalcitrant textile dyes as sole carbon source

During a search for micro-organisms capable of degrading textile dyes in industrial effluents a facultative anaerobic filamentous fungi was isolated. It had the ability to grow on dyes as sole carbon source under both aerobic and anaerobic conditions. The dyes were not decolorized, but showed alterations in their ultraviolet-visible spectra indicative of some degradative changes to the molecules away from their chromophoric centres. Investigation of the degraded dyes using capillary electrophoresis has confirmed that structural changes in the dyes are induced by the fungus. This isolate may contribute to future applications involving microbial treatment processes of dye effluent.