A microbial assay for determining the influence of physicochemical environmental factors on the toxicity of organics: phenol.

Abstract

The toxicity of phenol to filamentous fungi was unaffected by pH or water hardness, but it was potentiated by salinity at levels comparable to those occurring in estuarine and off-shore marine waters. The effect of temperature on the response of the fungi to phenol was highly variable: depending on the fungus, the toxicity of phenol was either not affected, increased, or decreased as the temperature was raised from 22 to 32°C. The toxicity of phenol was not affected by heavy metals. The mediating influences of these abiotic environmental factors on the toxicity of phenol to filamentous fungi were similar to those reported for aquatic macrobiota. This similarity, which has also been noted with the effects of environmental factors on the toxicity of heavy metals, strengthens the concept of using microbial assays to evaluate initially the potential mediating influence of physicochemical factors of natural environments on the toxicity of organic pollutants. An antagonistic interaction in toxicity occurred between phenol and endrin aldehyde orp-chloro-m-cresol, and an additive interaction occurred between phenol and toxaphene, but no interactions were apparent between phenol and other phenolic compounds and pesticides.