Pak. J. Bot., 45(S1): 475-480, 2013.

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TOLERABLE ANALYSIS OF THE FUNGI OF THE PERI-URBAN AGRICULTURAL AREA

SHAZIA IRAM¹, KHADIJA BASHARAT¹ AND IFTIKHAR AHMAD²

Abstract: The present study was conducted with the aim to scrutinize the tolerance and biosorptive capability of two strains of Aspergillus niger towards the prevailing heavy metals in the soil. The research focused on the fungal strains of the contaminated soils of Hudiara drain, Lahore and Chahkayra Chack, Faisalabad.  The degree of tolerance of fungi was judged in correspondence with the radial growth (cm) in the presence of heavy metal containing media followed by its comparison with the control, which contain no heavy metals. Tolerance was measured in terms of minimum inhibitory concentration and Aspergillus niger showed minimum growth at 6mg/ml against the tested heavy metal Cr(NO₃)₃ and exhibited radial growth 3-4.5 cm. Aspergillus niger  strains of Faisalabad and Lahore showed maximum biosorption at 8mM and 10mM. Data obtained from the experimentation has vast futuristic applicability in terms of biosorption, bioremediation and genetic characterization in future purposes.

¹Department of Environmental Sciences, Fatima Jinnah Women University, Rawalpindi, Pakistan

²PARC Institute of Advanced Studies in Agriculture, National Agricultural Research Center Islamabad

^*Corresponding author e-mail: iram.shazia@gmail.com