The increasing number of motor vehicles is causing a lot of air pollution with hydrocarbons. The pollution spreads as well to the forests, rivers, water and ground ecosystems. We decided to investigate the vehicle's internal combustion engine and its parts, for potential presence of fungi that could be used as bioremediation agents. Oil filters, fuel filters, hole for refuelling, car service workshop's drainage system and oil stains on the floor from car service workshop were analyzed in a laboratory for the presence of fungi. We used different isolation techniques and with the aid of molecular markers we identified 45 fungal species belonging to 13 genera. Acremonium, Alternaria, Aureobasidium, Candida, Cladosporium, Coniochaeta, Exophiala, Geotrichum, Meyerozyma, Penicilium, Pleurostoma, Cystobasidium and Rhodotorula. All of the isolates were tested for growth on selected hydrocarbons as sole carbon sources. All of the isolates grew in toluene atmosphere, while less than 50% (Meyerozyma, Acremonium, Penicilium, Cladosporum and Exophiala) grew on mineral oil and even less on n-hexadecane (Meyerozyma, Acremonium, Penicilium and Coniochaeta).
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