Laila Naher

Heavy Metal Contaminants Removal from Wastewater Using the PotentialFilamentous Fungi Biomass: A Review

Heavy metal pollution of wastewater currently becomes a key environmental problem throughout the whole world. Conventional methods for the removal of heavy metals from aqueous solutions are not economically and environmental friendly because it has produced massive quantity of toxic chemical compounds. Recently, the removal of heavy metals from wastewater are extensively used various conventional methods such as chemical precipitation, coagulation-flocculation, flotation, ion exchange and membrane filtration. Biological treatments, especially filamentous fungi have gained an increasing attention for heavy metal removal and recovery due to their upright performances, low cost and huge quantities. The filamentous fungi have a great potential to produce large amount of biomasses which are widely used for metal adsorption capacities of Pb, Zn, Cd, Cu, Cr, As and Ni. Production of biomass has offered great potential for adopting metal-recovery system. The main aim of this review paper is to discuss the available information of heavy metals removal for the utilization of filamentous fungi biomass and scrutinize the practical of exploiting them for heavy metal remediation.

Effective composting of empty fruit bunches using potential Trichoderma strains

Highlights • Biocompost is not only a good biofertilizer but also a good biocontrol agent against pant pathogenic fungi.• Best solution for acidic soils.• Balance the biological flora in soil.• High C:N value.

mRNA Expression of EgCHI1, EgCHI2, and EgCHI3 in Oil Palm Leaves (Elaeis guineesis Jacq.) after Treatment with Ganoderma boninense Pat. and Trichoderma harzianum Rifai

Background. Basal stem rot (BSR) disease caused by the fungus Ganoderma boninense is the most serious disease affecting the oil palm; this is because the disease escapes the early disease detection. The biocontrol agent Trichoderma harzianum can protect the disease only at the early stage of the disease. In the present study, the expression levels of three oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) chitinases encoding EgCHI1, EgCHI2, and EgCHI3 at 2, 5, and 8 weeks inoculation were measured in oil palm leaves from plants treated with G. boninense or T. harzianum alone or both. Methods. The five-month-old oil palm seedlings were treated with Gano-wood blocks inoculum and trichomulch. Expression of EgCHI1, EgCHI2, and EgCHI3 in treated leaves tissue was determined by real-time PCR. Results. Oil palm chitinases were not strongly expressed in oil palm leaves of plants treated with G. boninense alone compared to other treatments. Throughout the 8-week experiment, expression of EgCHI1 increased more than 3-fold in leaves of plants treated with T. harzianum and G. boninense when compared to those of control and other treated plants. Conclusion. The data illustrated that chitinase cDNA expression varied depending on tissue and the type of treatment.

Storage behaviour of exotic potato genotypes and hybrid clones under natural condition

An experiment was conducted to evaluate the storability of hybrid clones and exotic genotypes at room temperature during April to August 2011 and April to August 2012. Fourteen hybrid clones and 14 exotic genotypes were stored for five months at ambient temperature. Hybrid clones 7.33 and 7.12 showed better performance in respect of storage behaviour (minimum weight and rottage loss) at ambient temperature. The maximum storability was found in Labadia, Liseta, Albaata, Lambada and Amanda exotic genotypes. Moreover, hybrid clones 7.33 and 7.12 exhibited minimum weight and rottage loss in both the hybrid clones and the exotic genotypes. Based on their storage behaviour at ambient temperature, it may be concluded that hybrid clones 7.33 and 7.12 are found to be suitable for storage under ordinary room temperature conditions for a period of 90 to 120 days and slow release to market for avoiding distress sale.