The degradation of methylene blue dye by the strains of Pleurotus sp. with potential applications in bioremediation processes

Abstract Fungi have a large capacity to produce enzymes that are capable of degrading compounds. In this regard, soluble dyes are often used as a means of evaluating and selecting strains with potential for biodegradation. This study verified the capacity of the strains of Pleurotus sp. in degrading methylene blue dye, in order to identify the strains with potential for the bioremediation. For this reason, a total of seven strains of Pleurotus sp. were grown in a potato liquid medium with the methylene blue dye at the concentrations of 0.02 g L-1 and 0.04 g L-1. The results of the absorbances showed that all the isolates were visibly able to reduce the media staining following seven days of growth. However, a reduction of approximately 80% in the staining was observed for the strains named ERY, HI, and SB compared to the control. Thus, it was observed that these strains could be used in the color removal bioprocesses and in the biodegradation of pollutant compounds.