Soil fungi isolated from DDT-polluted soils: assessment of tolerance, interspecific metabolic diversity and efficacy of rhizo-bioremediation
DDT (dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane) was widely used worldwide to control agricultural pests and vectors of several insect-borne human diseases, but its use was banned in most industrialized countries since 1972 due to toxicological concerns. However, due to its persistence in the environment, residues still remain in environ-mental compartments becoming long-term sources of exposure affecting organisms. The metabolic and enzy-matic versatility of fungi can be exploited for DDT biodegradation purposes.