Effectiveness of Dyes Removal by Mixed Fungal Cultures and Toxicity of Their Metabolites

Abstract

Decolorization of brilliant green (0.06 g/L), Evans blue (0.15 g/L), and their mixture (total concentration 0.08 g/L, proportion 1:1 <i>w</i>/<i>w</i>) by fungi was studied. Fungal strains [<i>Pleurotus ostreatus</i> (BWPH), <i>Gloeophyllum odoratum</i> (DCa), and <i>Fusarium oxysporum</i> (G1)] were used separately and as a mixture of them. Zootoxicity (<i>Daphnia magna</i>) and phytotoxicity (<i>Lemna minor</i>) changes were estimated after the end of experiment. Mixtures of fungal strains were less effective in decolorization process than the same strains used separately (as a single strains). After 96 h of experiment, living biomass of strain BWPH removed up to 95.5 %; DCa, up to 84.6 %; G1, up to 79.2 % where mixtures BWPH + DCa removed up to 74.3 %; and BWPH + G1, only up to 32.2 % of used dyes. High effectiveness of dyes removal not always corresponded with decrease of toxicity. The highest decrease of zootoxicity and phytotoxicity (from V to III toxicity class or to even nontoxic) was noticed for single strains, while no changes or slight toxicity decrease was noticed in samples with strains mixtures.