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Degradation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in soil by a tolerant strain of Trichoderma asperellum

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Abstract

Trichoderma asperellum H15, a previously isolated strain characterized by its high tolerance to low (LMW) and high molecular weight (HMW) PAHs, was tested for its ability to degrade 3–5 ring PAHs (phenanthrene, pyrene, and benzo[a]pyrene) in soil microcosms along with a biostimulation treatment with sugarcane bagasse. T. asperellum H15 rapidly adapted to PAH-contaminated soils, producing more CO2 than uncontaminated microcosms and achieving up to 78 % of phenanthrene degradation in soils contaminated with 1,000 mg Kg−1 after 14 days. In soils contaminated with 1,000 mg Kg−1 of a three-PAH mixture, strain H15 was shown to degrade 74 % phenanthrene, 63 % pyrene, and 81 % of benzo[a]pyrene. Fungal catechol 1,2 dioxygenase, laccase, and peroxidase enzyme activities were found to be involved in the degradation of PAHs by T. asperellum. The results demonstrated the potential of T. asperellum H15 to be used in a bioremediation process. This is the first report describing the involvement of T. asperellum in LMW and HMW-PAH degradation in soils. These findings, along with the ability to remove large amounts of PAHs in soil found in the present work provide enough evidence to consider T. asperellum as a promising and efficient PAH-degrading microorganism.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (CONACYT) project CB2008-105643, Instituto Politécnico Nacional project SIP20144071 and CONACYT grant 269828.

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  1. Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Centro de Investigación en Biotecnología Aplicada, Carretera Estatal Santa Ines Tecuexcomac-Tepetitla Km 1.5, Tepetitla, Tlaxcala, México, C.P. 70900

    German Zafra, Angélica Moreno-Montaño, Ángel E. Absalón & Diana V. Cortés-Espinosa

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  1. German Zafra
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  2. Angélica Moreno-Montaño
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  3. Ángel E. Absalón
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  4. Diana V. Cortés-Espinosa
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Correspondence to Diana V. Cortés-Espinosa.

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Zafra, G., Moreno-Montaño, A., Absalón, Á.E. et al. Degradation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in soil by a tolerant strain of Trichoderma asperellum . Environ Sci Pollut Res 22, 1034–1042 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-014-3357-y

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