Wet sand cultures to screen filamentous fungi for the biotransformation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

The biodegradation of phenanthrene and benzo[a]pyrene was assayed in liquid and wet sand cultures in the presence of five filamentous fungi. In the controls, 85% volatilisation of phenanthrene occurred within 28 days in liquid cultures while it was only 50% in wet sand. In the later system, remaining phenanthrene and benzo[a]pyrene amounted to 6-51 and 53-92% of their initial levels, respectively, according to the strains. Then, wet sand used as a screening tool evidenced Trametes versicolor and Cunninghamella elegans as the most efficient polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons degraders among ten strains.