Fungal degradation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) by Scopulariopsis brevicaulis and its application in bioremediation of PAH-contaminated soil

A fungal strain PZ-4 isolated from an aged polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH)-contaminated soil was found to have the ability to degrade PAHs, which was identified as Scopulariopsis brevicaulis based on 18S rRNA gene sequence. PZ-4 was able to remove phenanthrene (60%), fluoranthene (62%), pyrene (64%) and benzo[a]pyrene (82%) in liquid medium after 30 days of incubation. Microcosms were set up to evaluate the bioremediation potential of PZ-4 in a PAH-contaminated soil. After incubation for 28 days, 77% of total PAHs were removed from the soil with the addition of the PZ-4 suspension, the highest PAHs removal occurred in phenanthrene (89%) and benzo[a]pyrene (75%). These results indicate that this fungal strain might be a promising candidate for bioremediation of PAH-contaminated soils. It is also the first description of soil bioremediation with S. brevicaulis.