Bioremediation of Anthracene, Phenanthrene and Phenol by Cunninghamella echinulata

Abstract

Oil-polluted areas contain large amounts of poly-aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) which represent severe hazards on the ambient environment. Fungal strains were isolated from different contaminated sites in the Mediterranean coast and middle Delta, Egypt and screened for PAHs degradation. Hydrocarbon-enriched media was used to isolate the anthracene-, phenanthrene-and phenol-degrading fungi. Thirteen fungal isolates showed high degradation activities for anthracene, phenanthrene and phenol. One isolate was selected possessing high degradation ability and incubation period and was identified based on 18S rDNA sequence. Partial sequence of 18S rDNA revealed that this isolate is identified as Cunninghamella echinulata. Laccase enzyme produced by this fungus was subsequently evaluated for its degradative ability towards PAHs mixtures. The percentage of degradation varied from 96.035% to 99.986% of the tested PAHs. After an incubation period of 45 days, 5% of PAHs gave the highest degradation activity among all concentrations used. The kinetics of PAHs degradation is presented along with the feasibility of using Cunninghamella echinulata for bioremediation