Abstract A Plackett–Burman Factorial Design of 16 experiments was conducted to assess the influence of nine factors on the production of lipases by filamentous fungi. The factors investigated were bran type (used as the main carbon source), nitrogen source, nitrogen source concentration, inducer, inducer concentration, fungal strain (Aspergillus niger or Aspergillus flavus were selected as good lipase producers via submerged fermentation), pH and agitation. The concentration of the yeast extract and soybean oil and the pH had a significant effect (p < 0.05) on lipase production and were consecutively studied through a Full Factorial Design 23, with the concentration of yeast extract and pH being significant (p < 0.05). These variables were optimized using a central composite design, obtaining maximum lipolytic activities with the use of 45 g/L of yeast extract and pH 7.15. The statistical model showed a 94.12% correlation with the experimental data.

A biorremediação é uma tecnologia que utiliza o metabolismo de microrganismos para eliminação ou redução, a níveis aceitáveis, de poluentes presentes no ambiente. Os herbicidas triazínicos são usados intensivamente no controle de ervas daninhas, principalmente na cultura de milho. Objetivou-se, neste trabalho, isolar fungos filamentosos de solos contaminados com herbicidas triazínicos (atrazine e simazine) e selecionar os microrganismos isolados quanto à capacidade de crescimento em meio adicionado de atrazine. Os microrganismos foram isolados, cultivados em meio Ágar-Batata-Dextrose (BDA) acidificado com ácido tartárico 10%, adicionado de 50 mg.Kg-1 de atrazine e incubados por 5 dias a 25ºC. Foi realizada a medida diária do crescimento fúngico e calculada a velocidade de crescimento radial através de regressão linear dos raios das colônias utilizando-se a equação r(t) = a + VCR .t (r:raio; t: tempo; VCR: velocidade de crescimento radial). Os resultados de VCR foram analisados através de Anova simples e do teste de Tukey, para comparação de médias. Foram isolados 15 fungos, pertencentes aos gêneros Aspergillus, Penicillium e Trichoderma. As maiores VCRs foram obtidas com fungos Aspergillus (A1) e Penicillium (AS1), isolados de solo contaminado com atrazine e atrazine adicionado de simazine, respectivamente, que apresentaram VCRs de 1,57 mm.d-1 e 1,28 mm.d-1. O crescimento dos fungos em meio contaminado com a atrazine indica a possibilidade de utilização desses fungos em estudos de biorremediação de solos contaminados com herbicidas triazínicos.

Bioremediation is a technology that uses microrganism metabolism to quickly eliminate or reduce pollutants to acceptable levels into the environment. The triazine herbicides are intensively used to control harmful grass in the culture of maize. The aim of this work was to isolate filamentous fungi from soil contaminated with triazine herbicides and screening these fungi due to their ability of growth in a medium added by atrazine. The fungi were isolated, cultivated in potato-dextrose-agar plus 50 mg.Kg-1 of atrazine and incubated for 5 days at 25ºC. The measure of the rays of the colonies was carried out daily and the radial growth rate (RGR) through linear regression of colonies rays using the equation: r(t) = a + RGR .t (r:ray; t: time; RGR: radial growth rate). The RGR results were analyzed through analysis of variance and Tukey test for comparison of averages. Fifteen filamentous fungi from genus Aspergillus, Penicillium and Trichoderma were isolated. The highest RGRs were obtained with the fungi Aspergillus and Penicillium, when isolated from contaminated soil with atrazine and atrazine + simazine, respectively, showing RGR of 1.57 mm.d-1 and 1.28 mm.d-1. The growth of these fungi in atrazine contaminated meas indicates a possible of use of them in bioremediation experiments with contaminated soil containing triazine herbicides.