Assessing the biodegradation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and laccase production by new fungus Trematophoma sp. UTMC 5003.

Environmental pollution caused by petroleum compounds has become a global concern. The aim of this study was to evaluate the indigenous fungal isolates in Iran for biodegradation of crude oil pollutants. In order to isolate fungal strains, the soil samples were enriched in minimal salts medium (MSM) with 1% crude oil and then the crude oil degradation was measured by total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) assay. The degradation of hydrocarbons compounds was also analysed by FT-IR and HPLC, and the activity of peroxidase enzyme and biosurfactant production were also measured. We isolated 40 fungal strains and selected the isolate G-05 with 70% degradation ability of petroleum hydrocarbons as a premium isolate after 15 days. Residual crude oil analysis with FT-IR spectrophotometry and HPLC showed that G-05 is able to degrade 90 and 100% of aliphatic compounds and some polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), respectively. Evaluation of enzymatic activity showed that this isolate can produce 4 U L-1 of Laccase enzyme for oil removal; it is capable of producing biosurfactant and reducing the surface tension of the medium to 25.95 ± 0.1 m Nm-1. This strain was identified as a member of Trematophoma genus and the obtained results showed that this strain is a highly potent strain in bioremediation of soils contaminated by crude oil.