ISOLATION OF CHROMIUM TOLERANT NATIVE FUNGI COLLECTED FROM SUKINDA MINING AREASUBHRA SUBHADARSINI AND DEBASIS DASHAbstract Elevated chromium contamination is a prime concern in the Sukinda Valley of Odisha, India. As a chromite hub of our country, the anthropogenic activity is at its peak. Due to over-exploitation through mining, the Sukinda atmosphere is now polluted with hexavalent chromium concentration far beyond its permissible limits. Certain physicochemical technologies for these problems are either high-cost demanding or produce secondary toxins. So mycoremediation can be an effective alternative for degrading Hexavalent chromium as it is a well-known decomposer of the environment. This experiment aim to isolate chromium tolerating potential fungal species from the Sukinda Valley area. Five different soil samples were collected from different areas of the Sukinda region and tested for physic-chemical parameters. The isolaion and screening was done in a Potato dextrose agar medium. The results confirm three different species having a potential to tolerate up to a concentration of 5000 ppm whereas the highest tolerance potential was 9000 ppm found in species of Aspergillus niger. These remarkable tolerance abilities confirm that these species can effectively apply as bioremediation agents for removing the hexavalent chromium concentration in Sukinda mining areas. |