First Report of Fungal Strains from Afşin–Elbistan Mine for Microbial Lignite Process

Abstract

Today, the need for energy is increasing and fossil fuels are constituting one of the most important energy sources in the world. Therefore, the efficient use of fossil fuels has become inevitable. In order to better use the opportunities offered by nature, we have turned to nature's own resources. In this study, fungal strains of potential use in coal processing technology, isolated from Turkey's largest lignite mine and identified. Our goal was to obtain active isolates for the biotechnological applications using the mine's own source. For this aim, lignite samples were collected from different regions of the Afşin–Elbistan lignite mine, isolation studies were done and eventually, distinguished fungal isolates were identified by using conventional and molecular techniques. Hereby, fungal biodiversity of Turkey's largest lignite mine has been investigated for the first time. Furthermore, 20 fungal isolates belong to Alternaria, Aspergillus, and Penicillium genera were cultured to provide resources for the development of future biotechnological coal processing techniques.