Use of White Rot Fungus Pleurotus ostreatus as a Biodegradator of Naphthalene in Contaminated Soil

Abstract

The capacity of white rot fungus, Pleurotus ostreatus, to biodegrade naphthalene present in sandy-clay-loam soil samples at concentrations of 50, 100, 200, and 500 mg/L was investigated experimentally. Using high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC), triplicate samples of liquid extracts from both fungus-inoculated and control (noninoculated) soil samples were taken at time periods of 0, 30, 60, and 90 days for determination of residual naphthalene concentrations. Relevant factors (naphthalene concentration, treatment duration, and residual naphthalene concentration) and their interaction were compared for both inoculated and control samples, using pair plots and level of significance. Overall, samples inoculated with P. ostreatus had reduced naphthalene concentrations to 1–40% of initial concentrations for the 90-day sampling period, compared with 63–82% for control treatments. In the control soil samples, extractable naphthalene increased by approximately 2–5% of initial content between 60 and 90 days...