Abstract
Three chromogenic substances with structures resembling those of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were incorporated in culture medium in order to screen for fungi capable of degrading PAHs. Curvularia sp. F18, Lentinus sp. S5, and Phanerochaete sp. T20 were isolated and shown to have the ability to degrade both low- and high- molecular weight PAHs, with the most prominent degradation being observed with Phanerochaete sp. T20. Preliminary metabolite analysis of fluorene degradation by Phanerochaete sp. T20 using HPLC and GC-MS revealed that one of the early metabolites was 9-fluorenol, which is a less toxic substance. This fungus survived in 500 mg/l of PAH for at least 30 days. The fungus could degrade a mixture of four PAHs (25 mg/l each), resulting in the reduction of 97, 59, 39, and 47% of fluorene, phenanthrene, fluoranthene, and pyrene, respectively. This work demonstrates that Phanerochaete sp. T20 could be used to bioremediate environments contaminated with high concentrations and/or mixtures of PAHs.
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