The Roles Played by Fungi in Bioremediation Technologies

In recent decades, human actions aimed at maintaining dominance over the earth's natural resources have endangered the ecological balance. The irreparable damage caused by oil pollution not only impacts the environment but also affects the economy and the health of living organisms. Therefore, in addition to preventive measures, it is crucial to focus on techniques for removing this type of pollution. Bioremediation, which involves the use of microorganisms like bacteria and fungi to eliminate, decompose, or reduce pollution, offers eco-friendly and cost-effective advantages. While organisms from various domains can play a role in bioremediation, fungi stand out as promising candidates. Their metabolic abilities enable them to breakdown complex molecules, making them highly effective in degrading stubborn organic matter in nature. Fungi, often referred to as mycoremediators, have been more extensively studied for bioremediation in terrestrial ecosystems compared to aquatic environments. This review explores the research conducted on fungi and bioremediation, summarizing findings and analyzing the progress in this field from the past to the present through bibliometric analysis. The results indicate that most studies concentrate on fungi isolated from soil, with Aspergillus, Penicillium, Fusarium strains being frequently reported. China, Iran, and Nigeria have published the most documents on this subject in the Scopus database. Utilizing a consortium of microorganisms is likely to yield better results than using a single strain. Overall, the use of fungi in bioremediation shows promise due to their specific metabolic characteristics.