Studies on fungi from coastal waters of Bombay and Goa

Abstract

Fungi were isolated from immersed timber panels, sediments, mangrove vegetation and algae from the brackish waters in Bombay and Goa. Immersed wood harboured a large population of cellulolytic fungi which rendered the wood susceptible to the attack by secondary invaders like the marine borers. Marine sediments contained large number of saprophytic fungi capable of degrading cellulose and hydrocarbons. Brackish water sediments from Sewri in Bombay and Agasaim on Zuari River in Goa harboured active hydrocarbon utilizers. Sediments from Chapora and Mandovi rivers in Goa showed a significant cellulolytic population. Mangrove vegetation in these areas also showed a similar trend and a number of ascomycetes and deuteromycetes, possibly responsible for the degradation of detrital material in the vegetation were isolated. From marine algae phycomycetes and yeasts were isolated.