The culture of Trametes gibbosa sp. white-rot fungi (WRF) 3 under mesophilic conditions can lead to the degradation of azo dye compounds. This ability of T. gibbosa sp. WRF 3 is attributed to the released enzymes that are able to catalyze the structural degradation of the azo dye compound. The effect of environmental factors such as carbon sources, nitrogen sources, and pH of growth medium were investigated in this research. The addition of 20 g/L glucose (carbon source) and yeast extract (nitrogen source) at pH 5 of growth medium enhanced the decolorization of Reactive Black 5 (RB5) dye up to 87.07 % within 30 days of incubation. The decolorization of RB5 can be analyzed using UV-vis spectroscopy and differential pulse cathodic stripping voltammetry (DPCSV). The maximum absorbance of RB5 was at 597 nm and decreased after the dye was treated with T. gibbosa sp. WRF 3. In the voltammetric analysis, we examined the effect of pH of Britton-Robinson buffer (BRB) medium on the detection of bis-azo compound of RB5. A stock solution of RB5 was used in the study, and it showed two reduction peak potentials at ?0.5 and ?0.7 V which attributed to the bis-azo bond, whereas the metabolic product showed one reduction peak at ?0.6 V. The GC-MS mass spectrum confirmed the formation of metabolites at tR 4.63 min and m/z of 73 after 30 days of incubation which was sec-butylamine.

Armillaria sp. F022, a basidiomycete fungus isolated from a recreational forest in Johor, Malaysia, was tested for its biodegradation ability of the azo dye Acid Red 27 (AR27). Varying carbon and nitrogen sources, agitation, and inoculum concentrations on AR27 dye degradation by Armillaria sp. F022 in liquid medium were investigated to find out their effects on dye degradation. Glucose and ammonium chloride were the best nutrients for the growth of Armillaria sp. F022. The addition of 15% inoculum concentration of Armillaria sp. F022 increased the AR27 dye degradation up to 97.17% within 72 h of incubation. Phytotoxicity tests were performed employing seed germination of Sorghum vulgare and Triticum aestivum by monitoring their elongation of the plumules and radicles to evaluate the toxicity of the degradation products. The metabolites formed during biodegradation were 1,4-naphthalenediol, 1,2-dihydroxynaphthalene, and coumarin, characterized by thin-layer chromatography and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Based on the findings of the AR27 biodegradation pathway it is proposed that Armillaria sp. F022 can be used to treat AR27 dye contaminated effluents to protect the ecosystem.

In this study, a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) was modified with multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate ([bmim]PF6), N,N0-bis(2-hydroxyacetophenone) ethylenediamine (BZE) and Nafion to form a MWCNT-BZE-[bmim]PF6-Nafion-GCE. The electrochemical behaviour of the modified electrode with respect to silver (Ag(I)) ion detection was studied by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry (DPASV). Furthermore, the experimental parameters including the pH value of Britton�Robinson Buffer (BRB), Nafion, MWCNTs, BZE and ([bmim]PF6) concentrations and the deposition potential and time were optimized. The detection limit of the modified electrode for the Ag(I) ion was found to be 70 ng L 1 (6.49 10 10 mol L 1). Repetitive measurements revealed good reproducibility with a relative standard deviation (RSD) value of 0.4%. The system performance of the modified electrode was highly satisfactory and the recoveries for river water samples were found to be 96�121%. This study proved that the MWCNT-BZE-[bmim]PF6-Nafion-GCE is a highly selective and sensitive modified electrode for the detection of the Ag(I) ion in river water samples with good recovery value.

In this study, fast growing ascomycete fungus Trichoderma atroviride F03 was explored to biodegrade bis-azo dye, Reactive Black 5 (RB5). The maximum RB5 biodegradation (91.1%) was achieved in the culture medium supplemented with an appropriate carbon source (glucose, 20 g l−1), and nitrogen source (yeast extract, 20 g l−1) at pH 5 and 27 °C. The laccase produced by T. atroviride F03 was involved in the RB5 biodegradation processes. The metabolites such as (I) 1,2,4-trimethylbenzene, (II) 2,4-ditertbutylphenol, and (III) benzoic acid-TMS) were identified as the biodegradation products of RB5 using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC–MS). The presence of these metabolites suggested that RB5 biodegradation was initiated by the cleavage of azo bond forming naphthalene-1,2,8-triol and sulphuric acid mono-[2-(toluene-4-sulfonyl)-ethyl] ester. The sulphuric acid mono-[2-(toluene-4-sulfonyl)-ethyl] ester was further desulphonated to 1,2,4-trimethylbenzene. Then, the oxygenated ring of C1 and C2 naphthalene-1,2,8-triol was cleaved to 2-(2-carboxy-ethyl)-6-hydroxy-benzoic acid. The degradation of 2-(2-carboxy-ethyl)-6-hydroxy-benzoic acid could be proceeded with two pathways: (i) decarboxylation and methylation to form 2,4-ditertbutylphenol and (ii) decarboxylation mechanism that induced the formation of benzoic acid-TMS. Finally, this study proved that T. atroviride F03 might be a good candidate in treating textile effluent containing azo dye as this treatment does not generating aromatic amines. Keywords Azo dyeBiodegradation, Laccase, Metabolic pathway, Reactive black 5, Trichoderma atroviride F03

The growth of white-rot fungus Pleurotus eryngii F032 in a suitable medium can degrade an azo dye Reactive Black 5 (RB5), because of its ability to produce ligninolytic enzymes such as lignin peroxidase (LiP), manganese peroxidase (MnP), and laccase that able to degrade and transform the complex structure of the dye into a less toxic compound. The effect of environmental factors such as initial concentration of Reactive Black 5, pH, temperature of growth medium, surfactant (Tween 80), and agitation were also investigated. The productions of ligninolytic enzymes were enhanced by increasing the white-rot fungi growth in optimum conditions. The decolorization of Reactive Black 5 were analyzed by using UV�vis spectrophotometer at the maximum absorbance of 596 nm. The white-rot fungus, P. eryngii F032 culture exhibited 93.56 % decolorization of 10 mg/L RB5 within 72 h of incubation in dark condition with agitation. The optimum pH and temperature for the decolorizing activity was recorded at pH 3 and 40 �C, respectively. The addition of surfactant (Tween 80) increased the decolorization to 93.57 % and agitation of growth medium at 120 rpm enhanced the distribution of nutrients to the fungus thus optimized the enzymatic reaction that resulted maximum decolorization of RB5 which was 93.57 %. The molecular docking studies were performed using Chimera visualization software as to analyze the decolorization mechanism of RB5 at molecular level.

Rhizoctonia zeae SOL3 fungus was isolated from contaminated soil based on its ability to decolorize remazol brilliant blue R in solid medium. This fungus has been used to degrade pyrene a four-ring polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon. R. zeae SOL3 could biodegrade pyrene as a sole source of carbon and energy. Different parameters were investigated to study their effect on the biodegradation rate. The highest biodegradation rate reached at 28 °C, non-agitated culture, 20 g/L glucose, 24 g/L NaCl, and 20 mg/L pyrene. The metabolites of pyrene were detected by thin layer chromatography (TLC) and confirmed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS), which were identified as benzoic acid, 4-hydroxybenzoic acid and botanic acid.

In this study, a newly isolated ascomycete fungus Trichoderma lixii F21 was explored to bioremediate the polar [Alizarin Red S (ARS)] and non-polar [Quinizarine Green SS (QGSS)] anthraquinone dyes. The bioremediation of ARS and QGSS by T. lixii F21 was found to be 77.78 and 98.31 %, respectively, via biosorption and enzymatic processes within 7 days of incubation. The maximum biosorption (ARS = 33.7 % and QGSS = 74.7 %) and enzymatic biodegradation (ARS = 44.1 % and QGSS = 23.6 %) were observed at pH 4 and 27 °C in the presence of glucose and yeast extract. The laccase and catechol 1,2-dioxygenase produced by T. lixii F21 were involved in the molecular conversions of ARS and QGSS to phenolic and carboxylic acid compounds, without the formation of toxic aromatic amines. This study suggests that T. lixii F21 may be a good candidate for the bioremediation of industrial effluents contaminated with anthraquinone dyes. Bioremediation Catechol 1,2-dioxygenase Laccase Trichoderma lixii