Evaluation of Tolerance and Uptake of Cd and Mn for Microfungi Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus oryzae, and Aspergillus terreus Isolated from Landfill Soil Collected from Bangar, La Union Philippines

Excessive deposition of heavy metals into the environment due to anthropogenic activities necessitates an eco-friendly clean-up strategy. Among microorganisms, limited studies have been made on the mycoremediation potential of microfungi. This paper evaluated three landfill microfungal isolates of Aspergillus species for tolerance and uptake to Cd and Mn. Culture media optimization was also performed for the evaluation of the tolerance index and heavy metal analysis of soil samples from the landfill site. Among the nine heavy metals analyzed, Mn and Fe were detected in relatively high amounts, while Cd, Ni, and Cu were detected in a moderate range. Luxuriant mycelial growth of A. oryzae (MK120548.1) and A. flavus (MH864264.1) was observed in potato dextrose agar while A. terreus (MH047280.1) grew best in potato sucrose agar. In terms of tolerance index, A. oryzae (MK120548.1) and A. flavus (MH864264.1) demonstrated high tolerance to Cd up to 10 mg/kg. A. oryzae (MK120548.1) showed high tolerance to Mn up to 1,000 mg/kg while A. flavus (MH864264.1) exhibited a very high 10,000 mg/kg tolerance. In terms of metal uptake, A. oryzae (MK120548.1) showed the highest metal uptake of up to 654 mg/kg of Cd, while A. terreus (MH047280.1) exhibited the highest metal uptake of 997 mg/kg ofMn. With these findings, A. oryzae (MK120548.1), A. flavus (MH864264.1), and A. terreus (MH047280.1) have considerable mycoremediation potential. Bioremediation studies in conjunction with plants can be explored to further assess the potential of these Aspergillus species.