The ability of the white rot fungus Phanerochaete chrysosporium to degrade polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) that are present in anthracene oil (a distillation product obtained from coal tar) was demonstrated. Analysis by capillary gas chromatography and high-performance liquid chromatography showed that at least 22 PAHs, including all of the most abundant PAH components present in anthracene oil, underwent 70 to 100% disappearance during 27 days of incubation with nutrient nitrogen-limited cultures of this fungus. Because phenanthrene is the most abundant PAH present in anthracene oil, this PAH was selected for further study. In experiments in which ((14)C) phenanthrene was incubated with cultures of P. chrysosporium containing anthracene oil for 27 days, it was shown that 7.7% of the recovered radiolabeled carbon originally present in ((14)C) phenanthrene was metabolized to (14)CO2 and 25.2% was recovered from the aqueous fraction, while 56.1 and 11.0% were recovered from the methylene chloride and particulate fractions, respectively. (Copyright (c) 1989 American Society for Microbiology.)

Originally published in Applied and environmental microbiology. Jan. 1989, 55(1): 154-158. "PB93-191591." Reproduced by NTIS (National Technical Information Service). Prepared for the Risk Reduction Engineering Laboratory, Cincinnati, OH. Includes bibliographical references.