| Summary: | For decades, researchers have focused on containing terrestrial oil pollution. The heterogeneity of soils, with immense microbial diversity, inspires them to transform pollutants and find cost-effective bioremediation methods. In this study, the mycoremediation potentials of five filamentous fungi isolated from polluted soils in Kazakhstan were investigated for their degradability of <i>n</i>-alkanes and branched-chain alkanes as sole carbon and energy sources. Dry weight estimation and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS) monitored the growth and the changes in the metabolic profile during degradation, respectively. <i>Penicillium javanicum</i> SBUG-M1741 and SBUG-M1742 oxidized medium-chain alkanes almost completely through mono- and di-terminal degradation. Pristane degradation by <i>P. javanicum</i> SBUG-M1741 was >95%, while its degradation with <i>Purpureocillium lilacinum</i> SBUG-M1751 was >90%. <i>P. lilacinum</i> SBUG-M1751 also exhibited the visible degradation potential of tetradecane and phytane, whereby in the transformation of phytane, both the mono- and di-terminal degradation pathways as well as α- and ß-oxidation steps could be described. <i>Scedosporium boydii</i> SBUG-M1749 used both mono- and di-terminal degradation pathways for <i>n</i>-alkanes, but with poor growth. Degradation of pristane by <i>Fusarium oxysporum</i> SBUG-M1747 followed the di-terminal oxidation mechanism, resulting in one dicarboxylic acid. These findings highlight the role of filamentous fungi in containing oil pollution and suggest possible degradation pathways.
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