The ability of brown-rot fungus Daedalea dickinsii to decolorize and transform methylene blue dye.

The ability of Daedalea dickinsii to decolorize and transform methylene blue (MB) dye was investigated. MB was decolorized in potato dextrose agar medium after adding MB at concentrations of 50, 75, and 100 mg L-1. D. dickinsii decolorized MB with decolorization index values of 0.92, 0.90, and 0.88 at MB concentrations of 50, 75, and 100 mg L-1, respectively. The 100 mg L1 MB concentration was selected for biotransformation in liquid potato dextrose broth medium. D. dickinsii transformed approximately 54% of the MB after a 14-day incubation. 3-(Dimethylamino)-7-(methylamino) phenothiazine (C15H16N3S), 3,7-bis(dimethylamino)-4aH-phenothiazin-5-one (C16H19N3SO), and 4-(dimethylamino)-2-[m(dimethylamino) phenylsulfinyl] benzenamine (C16H21N3SO) were detected as MB metabolic products. This is the first report of MB transformation by the brown-rot fungi D. dickinsii. These results indicate that D. dickinsii can be used to decolorize and biotransform MB dye.