Characterization of native fungi responsible for degrading crude oil from the coastal area of Yanbu, Saudi Arabia

A total of 15 fungal isolates were obtained from oil-contaminated sites near the Red Sea in the Yanbu region. Based on the preliminary DCPIP (2,6-dichlorophenolindophenol) assay, three isolates showed promising oil degrading ability. The next-generation sequencing of the ITS-I and ITS-II internal transcribed spacer regions assigned the isolates to Aspergillus and Penicillium. Among these three strains, Y2 (Aspergillus oryzae) was the most efficient, degrading about 99% of the crude oil. The degradation rates were corroborated using spectrophotometric and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry analyses after two weeks of cultivation in Bushnell–Haas medium. All the three strains proved to be potent oil-degrading strains and, hence, can be utilized to degrade oil contaminants