Biodegradation of phenanthrene by fungi screened from nature

Microbial degradation of Phenanthrene with several fungi screened from nature was conducted to select fungi for the bioremediation ofPhenanthrene. Thrichoderma sp. S019, a fungus collected from soil, had the highest rate of degradation on the agar medium containing Phenanthrene. Maximal degradation (72%) was obtained when Trichoderma sp. S019 was incubated for 30 days after the addition of 0.1 mM of Phenanthrene to the liquid medium. Furthermore, the degradation of Phenanthrene was affected by the addition of a carbon source, the addition of a nitrogen source and agitation. Also, 1,2-Dioxygenase and 2,3-Dioxygenase were produced by Trichoderma sp. S019 in a liquid medium. These enzymes play an important role in the metabolism of substrates, revealing a high stereoselectivity for initial dioxygenase and enzymatic hydration since the K-region of phenanthrene was the major site of metabolism. Phenanthrene was indeed degraded by Trichoderma sp. S019 because 1-Hydroxy-2-naphthoic acid, Salicyaldehyde, Salicylic acid and Catechol, considered to be the intermediates in the bioremediation of Phenanthrene, were detected among the reaction products.