The dermatophytes, keratinophilic fungi, represent important microorganisms of the soil microbiota, where there are cosmopolitan species and others with restricted geographic distribution. The aim of this study was to broaden the knowledge about the presence of dermatophytes in soils of urban (empty lots, schools, slums, squares, beaches and homes) and rural areas and about the evolution of the...

Coal fly ash (CFA), a by-product of coal combustion has been regarded as a problematic solid waste, mainly due to its potentially toxic trace elements, PTEs (e.g. Cd, Cr, Ni, Pb) and organic compounds (e.g. PCBs, PAHs) content. However, CFA is a useful source of essential plant nutrients (e.g. Ca, Mg, K, P, S, B, Fe, Cu and Zn). Uncontrolled land disposal of CFA is likely to cause undesirable c...

Ecology of hypogeic mycorrhizal fungi, such as truffles, remains largely unknown, both in terms of their geographical distribution and their environmental niches. Occurrence of true truffles (Tuber spp.) was therefore screened using specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays and subsequent PCR amplicon sequencing in tree roots collected at 322 field sites across the Czech Republic. These s...

Investigations in a 75–85-year-old Scots pine stand were performed on a territory influenced over 40 years by alkaline dust pollution (pH 12.3–12.7) emitted from a cement plant. Sample plots were located at distances of 2, 3, and 5 km E of the emission source and a control sample plot was selected on an unpolluted territory 38 km W of it. We studied soil properties and the anatomical structure,...

The diversity of Trichoderma spp. was investigated in alkaline soils of pistachio orchards at different geographic areas in Kerman province, Iran. A total of 161 Trichoderma isolates were obtained and identified at the species level by their morphological characters and sequence analysis of their internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and tef1-α genomic regions. Totally, five species of Trichoderma ...

The term "alkaliphile" is used for microorganisms that grow optimally or very well at pH values above 9 but cannot grow or grow only slowly at the near-neutral pH value of 6.5. Alkaliphiles include prokaryotes, eukaryotes, and archaea. Many different taxa are represented among the alkaliphiles, and some of these have been proposed as new taxa. Alkaliphiles can be isolated from normal environmen...

Proteolytic fungi from the soil samples were isolated on Reese agar plate containing casein as the protein substrate. The mycoflora of different localities of Sagar and Jabalpur districts of Madhya Pradesh were investigated at three different locations viz. Garden, Crop field and Poultry farms. These samples were labeled according to the site of collection as GS (Garden Soil), CFS (Crop Field S...

The mobility of fluorescein and bromide used as tracers in packed soil columns was investigated. Five different soils were used in two application methods: soil surface application and soil incorporation, both of which simulate accepted methods of soil application of termiticides to prevent structural infestation. The breakthrough of bromide and fluorescein in column eluates were measured. The ...

A laboratory study was conducted to investigate the mineralization of metsulfuron-methyl (MSM) in paddy soils in response to soil moisture, temperature and soil properties. The results indicated that MSM mineralization was relatively limited in the paddy soils when soil temperature was low. Only 2.2-6.0% of the applied (14)C mineralized after 84d of incubation at 15 degrees C. The mineralizatio...