Screening of ectomycorrhizal fungi for degradation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

Ectomycorrhizal fungi belonging to 16 species (27 strains) were tested for their ability to degrade polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs): phenanthrene, chrysene, pyrene and benzo[a]pyrene. Cultivated on a complex liquid medium, most of the fungi tested were able to metabolise these compounds. Approximately 50% of the benzo[a]pyrene was removed by strains of Amanita excelsa, Leccinum versipelle, Suillus grevillei, S. luteus, and S. variegatus during a 4-week incubation period. The same amount of phenanthrene was also metabolised by A. muscaria, Paxillus involutus, and S. grevillei. The degradation of the other two PAHs was, for the most part, less effective. Only S. grevillei was able to remove 50% of the pyrene, whereas Boletus edulis and ii. muscaria removed 35% of the chrysene.