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Investigating the Potential of Fusarium solani and Phanerochaete chrysosporium in the Removal of 2,4,6-TNT

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Abstract

Past and  recent applications of 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) in military and civilian industries have led to contamination of soil and marine ecosystems. Among various TNT remediation techniques, biological remediation is widely accepted for its sustainability, low cost, and scalable applications. This study was designed to isolate a fungus strain from a TNT-contaminated soil to investigate its tolerance to and potential for removal of TNT. Thus, a soil column with a history of periodic TNT amendment was used to isolate dominant strains of fungi Fusarium solani isolate, which is not commonly reported for TNT mineralization and was found predominant in the subsurface layer of the TNT-amended soil. F. solani was investigated for TNT concentration tolerance at 30, 70, and 100 mg/L on agar plates and for TNT removal in liquid cultures at the same given concentrations. F. solani activity was compared with that of a reference soil-born fungus that has been intensively studied for TNT removal (Phanerochaete chrysosporium) obtained from the American Type Culture Collection. On agar media, F. solani showed a larger colony diameter than P. chrysosporium at similar TNT concentrations, indicating its high potential to tolerate toxic levels of TNT as found in contaminated sites. In the liquid culture medium, F. solani was able to significantly produce higher biomass than P. chrysosporium in all TNT concentrations. The TNT removal percentage from the liquid culture at the highest TNT concentration of 100 mg/L reached about 85% with F. solani, while P. chrysosporium was no better than 25% at the end of an 84-h incubation period. Results indicate a significant potential of using F. solani in the bioremediation of polluted TNT soils that overcome the high concentration barrier in the field. However, further investigation is needed to identify enzymatic potential and the most effective applications and possible limitations of this method on a large scale.

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Data Availability

The datasets used and analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are very thankful to all the associated personnel in any reference that contributed in/for the purpose of this research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Land Management and Environment, Prince El-Hassan Bin Talal Faculty of Natural Resources and Environment, The Hashemite University, Zarqa, Jordan

    Jwan Ibbini & Salman Al-Kofahi

  2. Department of Biochemistry, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, USA

    Lawrence C. Davis

  3. Department of Water Management and Environment, Prince El-Hassan Bin Talal Faculty of Natural Resources and Environment, The Hashemite University, Zarqa, Jordan

    Dheaya Alrousan

  4. Boone Pickens School of Geology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK, USA

    Marwa Elshebli

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  1. Jwan Ibbini
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  2. Salman Al-Kofahi
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Ibbini, J., Al-Kofahi, S., Davis, L.C. et al. Investigating the Potential of Fusarium solani and Phanerochaete chrysosporium in the Removal of 2,4,6-TNT. Appl Biochem Biotechnol (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12010-023-04735-z

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