Microbe-Assisted Bioremediation of Pesticides from Contaminated Habitats 117

Figure 7.3. Mechanisms of pesticide remediation in algae.

7.4.3 Myco-assisted Degradation

Fungi are ubiquitous eukaryotic heterotrophic living organisms present in various habitats (Sanchez

and Demain 2017, Singh et al. 2020). Several fungi can remove harmful chemicals from the

environment, including pesticides, industrial wastes, dyes and personal care products (Deshmukh

et al. 2016). Fungal mycelium facilitates deep penetration into soil, allowing many pollutants to

be transported or translocated to cells (Sagar and Singh 2011). Therefore, fungi can access the

contaminated area in the deeper layers and degrade compounds that are inaccessible to bacteria

(Harms et al. 2011). Since fungal mycelium has low specificity of catabolic enzymes and can utilize

non-specific organic compounds, it is more suitable for degrading pesticides (Harms et al. 2011,

Chen et al. 2012).

Several studies have been conducted to isolate and characterize fungal strains that can

remediate pesticides (Shahi et al. 2016, Saez et al. 2018). Different fungal species are reported

to remediate pesticides using different processes and mechanisms (Figure 7.3). Bioremediation

of many pesticides such as oxytetracycline, cypermethrin, carbofuran, hexachlorocyclohexane,

chlorophenol and petroleum-based pesticides has been reported to be achieved using fungi such as

Trametes versicolor (Chen et al. 2014, Mir-Tutusaus et al. 2014), Pleurotus ostreatus (Sadiq et al.

2015) and Ganoderma lucidum (Kaur et al. 2016). Trametes versicolor is also known for its ability

to degrade carbamate pesticides (methomyl, methocarb and aldicarb) when grown in a defined

liquid medium (Rodríguez-Rodríguez et al. 2017). Phlebia species such as Lenzites betulinus and