A total of 97 fungal isolates able to grown in Sabouraud
media supplemented with 2 mM of phenol were isolated
from a stainless steel industry wastewater. The steel is obtained
by smelting iron ore with charcoal or mineral coal
and the effluents generated contained phenol concentrations
from 5 to 326 ppm. Among the 97 isolates, 30 were selected
for further screening based on phenol tolerance in assays
utilizing solid YNB with the addition of 1–10 mM phenol.
Other isolates were discarded based on their comparatively
poor growth and similar appearance in PDA culture.