| Fungi are eco-friendly agents and signifcant contributors to the various functions of activated sludge
and can be as effcient as bacteria in the removal of organic matters from wastewater; however, how
the types of wastewater and operating conditions affect the fungal communities are remained unexplored compared to bacteria. In this study, a culture-dependent method was used to assess the fungal diversity in three full-scale plants treating petrochemical, acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS)
resin manufacturing and municipal waste waters. Moreover, some physiochemical factors and operational parameters were determined. A total of 256 strains belonging to nine genera of Penicillium,
Chrysosporium, Aspergillus, Trichoderma, Trichothecium, Cladosporium, Fusarium, Acremonium, and Geotrichum were isolated. Among them, Geotrichum, Cladosporium, Aspergillus, Penicillium, Chrysosporium
and Trichoderma were the most frequent populations isolated from the wastewater treatment plants
(WWTPs). The results indicated that the types of wastewater, as well as the operating conditions are
the important factors influencing fungal community structure and abundance. |