Fungi as potential tool for polluted port sediment remediation

Contaminated sediments represent an important management problem that also concerns their remediation. Indeed, port dredging activities produce huge volumes of contaminated sediments that, in turn, require proper handling because of their quantity of inorganic and organic substances. Conventional management-remediation strategies of polluted sediment involve sediment washing, electron-chemical separation, and thermal treatment. Recently, bioremediation strategies have also been proposed as a promising answer to the problem of contaminated sediments. In this context, fungi are pioneer microorganisms known to bioconcentrate, bioaccumulate, and biostabilize heavy metals. These capabilities suggest the potential to employ indigenous fungal strains to remediate polluted port sediments. In the framework of the European Project SEDITERRA (Guidelines for the sustainable treatment of dredged sediments in the Marittimo area), the aim of this paper is to characterize the fungal communities of port sediments of Genoa and present an innovative mycoremediation protocol to evaluate the capability of indigenous fungal strains in the heavy metal remediation. In this study, Penicillium expansum Link and Paecilomyces formosus (Sakag., May. Inoue & Tada) Houbraken & Samson have been selected as fungal species for the mycoremediation treatments. The protocol requires a fungal membrane system and the results highlight efficient bioremoval of Cu and Zn from sediments.