Microorganisms in mangrove areas perform complex interactions for nutrient and ecological balances. Marine fungi play an important role in nutrient regeneration cycles as decomposers of dead and decaying organic matter. Since a very little is known about fungal populations in Mahanadi delta mangroves, the present study has been conducted to analyze the fungal diversity in relation to soil physico-chemical properties in the Mahanadi delta and its adjoining areas, a tropical mangrove ecosystem in India. In the study, ten sediment samples have been collected from different mangrove areas and the physico-chemical as well as fungal diversity study has been carried out. The physico-chemical parameters varied significantly among all sites. The pH was maximum (pH=8.3) at MHS-2 and minimum (pH=4.3) at DVS-1, organic carbon content was maximum (48.48mg/gm soil) and minimum (14.1 mg/gm soil) at MHS- 5, salinity was maximum (3.84 PSU) at DVS-1 sediments. The fungal diversity was maximum (8.56±0.48 x 105 cfu/gm soil) at DVS-4 sediment sample. The most dominant genera among all the fungi was Aspergillus. The occurrence of other genera such as Trichoderma, Penicillium, Acremonium, Fusarium etc. were also found in the different sampling sites. This study revealed the presence of diverse fungi in the mangroves of Mahanadi delta which provides information regarding better utilization of the industrially potent marine fungal groups for valuable product formation such as antibiotics, surfactants, antioxidants, industrial enzymes, metal-tolerant enzymes, stress proteins, food preservatives etc.
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