The study was conducted in order to explore the potential of fungi isolated from surface and bottom seawater collected from the fishing harbour of Bizerte on the bioremediation of industrial effluent (IE) contaminated by petroleum hydrocarbon. Among the 128 fungal isolates, 11 were isolated from surface seawater and 7 from bottom seawater, representing 18 taxa in total. The gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC–MS) was used for the determination of hydrocarbon compounds in IE. An initial screening of fungal growth using six concentrations ranged between 20 and 70% (v/v) IE has allowed the identification of the optimal concentration for fungal growth as well as selection of species able to tolerate high amounts of hydrocarbon. Colorimetric test employing 2,6-dichlorophenol indophenol and gravimetric method was applied for the assessment of fungal growth using 20% EI. By checking the phylogenetic affiliation of the high-performing stains as identified using ITSr DNA sequence, a dominance of Ascomycetes was detected. Indeed, Aspergillus terreus and Penicillium expansum may degrade 82.07 and 81.76% of residual total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH), respectively. Both species were collected from surface seawater. While, Aspergillus niger, Colletotrichum sp and Fusarium annulatum displayed comparable degradation rates 40.43%, 41.3%, and 42.03%, respectively. The lowest rate of degradation 33.62% was detected in Emericellopsis phycophila. All those species were isolated from bottom seawater, excepting A. niger isolated from surface water. This work highlighted the importance of exploring the potential of fungi isolated from the natural environment on the bioremediation of industrial effluent. Our results promoted the investigation of the potential of the high-performing isolates A. terreus and P. expansum on the bioremediation of IE at pilot-scale and then in situ.

该研究的目的是探索从比塞大渔港收集的表层和底层海水中分离出的真菌对受石油碳氢化合物污染的工业废水（IE）进行生物修复的潜力。 128个真菌分离株中，11个分离自表层海水，7个分离自底层海水，总共18个类群。气相色谱质谱法 (GC-MS) 用于测定 IE 中的碳氢化合物。使用 20% 至 70% (v/v) IE 之间的六种浓度对真菌生长进行初步筛选，从而确定真菌生长的最佳浓度以及选择能够耐受大量碳氢化合物的物种。采用 2,6-二氯苯酚靛酚比色测试和重量法使用 20% EI 评估真菌生长。通过检查使用 ITSr DNA 序列鉴定的高性能染色剂的系统发育关系，检测到子囊菌的优势。事实上，土曲霉和扩展青霉可以分别降解 82.07% 和 81.76% 的残留总石油烃 (TPH)。这两个物种都是从表层海水中采集的。而黑曲霉、炭疽菌和环状镰刀菌的降解率相当，分别为 40.43%、41.3% 和 42.03%。降解率最低的是Emericellopsis phycophila，为33.62% 。所有这些物种都是从底层海水中分离出来的，除了黑曲霉是从地表水中分离出来的。这项工作强调了探索从自然环境中分离的真菌在工业废水生物修复方面的潜力的重要性。我们的结果促进了对高性能分离株A. terreus和P. expansum在中试规模和原位生物修复 IE 方面的潜力的研究。