Screening fungal strains isolated from a limestone cave on their ability to grow and precipitate CaCO 3 in an environment relevant to concrete.

Fungi-mediated self-healing concrete is a novel approach that promotes the precipitation of calcium carbonate (CaCO 3 ) on fungal hyphae to heal the cracks in concrete. In this study, we set out to explore the potential of fungal species isolated from a limestone cave by investigating their ability to precipitate CaCO 3 and to survive and grow in conditions relevant to concrete. Isolated strains belonging to the genera Botryotrichum sp. , Trichoderma sp. and Mortierella sp. proved to be promising candidates for fungi-mediated self-healing concrete attributed to their growth properties and CaCO 3 precipitation capabilities in the presence of cement.