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A proposed stepwise screening framework for the selection of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH)-degrading white rot fungi

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Abstract

This study suggests a simple three-step screening protocol for the selection of white rot fungi (WRF) capable of degrading polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which combines easily applicable bioassay techniques, and verifies that protocol by evaluating the PAH degradation activity, ligninolytic enzyme secretion, and relevant gene expressions of the selected PAH-degraders. Using 120 fungal strains, a sequence of bioassay techniques was applied: Bavendamm’s reaction (Step 1), remazol brilliant blue R (RBBR) decolorization (Step 2); assays for tolerance to four mixed PAHs—phenanthrene, anthracene, fluoranthene, and pyrene (Step 3). This stepwise protocol selected 14 PAH-degrading WRF, including Microporus vernicipes, Peniophora incarnata, Perenniporia subacida, Phanerochaete sordida, Phlebia acerina, and Phlebia radiata. Of these, P. incarnata exhibited the highest PAH degradative activity, ranging from 40 to > 90%, which was related to the time-variable secretions of three extracellular ligninolytic enzymes: laccase, manganese-dependent peroxidase (MnP) and lignin peroxidase (LiP). Laccase and MnP production by P. incarnata tended to be greater in the early stages of PAH degradation, whereas its LiP production became intensified with decreasing laccase and MnP production. Pilc1 and pimp1 genes encoding laccase and MnP were expressed, indicating the occurrence of extracellular enzyme-driven biodegradation of PAH by the fungal strains.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Ministry of Education through the Basic Science Research Program [2016R1A6A3A03010744] of the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF); and was supported the survey and excavation of Korean indigenous species of the National Institute of Biological Resources [NIBR 201701104] under the Ministry of Environment, Republic of Korea; Dr. Wonjae Chang’s grants from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada [NSERC; RGPIN 05902-2014]; and the Canada Foundation for Innovation [CFI; JELF#33982].

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Environmental Science and Ecological Engineering, Korea University, 145, Anam-ro, Seongbuk-gu, Seoul, 02841, Republic of Korea

    Aslan Hwanhwi Lee, Hanbyul Lee, Young Mok Heo, Gyu-Hyeok Kim & Jae-Jin Kim

  2. Department of Civil, Geological and Environmental Engineering, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, S7N 5A9, Canada

    Aslan Hwanhwi Lee & Wonjae Chang

  3. School of Earth and Environmental Sciences and Research Institute of Oceanography, Seoul National University, 1 Gwanak-ro, Gwanak-gu, Seoul, 08826, Republic of Korea

    Aslan Hwanhwi Lee

  4. School of Biological Sciences and Institute of Microbiology, Seoul National University, 1 Gwanak-ro, Gwanak-gu, Seoul, 08826, Republic of Korea

    Young Woon Lim

  5. Microorganism Resources Division, National Institute of Biological Resources, Incheon, Republic of Korea

    Chang-Mu Kim

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  1. Aslan Hwanhwi Lee
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Lee, A.H., Lee, H., Heo, Y.M. et al. A proposed stepwise screening framework for the selection of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH)-degrading white rot fungi. Bioprocess Biosyst Eng 43, 767–783 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00449-019-02272-w

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