Oxidation of chlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxin and dibenzofuran by white-rot fungus, Phlebia lindtneri

The actions of a white-rot fungus on two chlorinated aromatic compounds, known to be persistent environmental contaminants, were studied. Two models, both-ring chlorinated dioxin, 2,7-dichlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (2,7-diCDD) and 2,8-dichlorodibenzofuran (2,8-diCDF), were metabolized by the white-rot fungus Phlebia lindtneri. 2,7-DiCDD disappeared linearly in the culture of P. lindtneri; over a 20-day incubation period, with only 45% remaining in the culture. One of the metabolites produced by P. lindtneri from a 5-day incubated culture with 2,7-diCDD or 2,8-diCDF was identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. P. lindtneri was shown to metabolize 2,7-diCDD and 2,8-diCDF to hydroxy-diCDD and hydroxy-diCDF, respectively. (C) 2002 Federation of European Microbiological Societies. Published by Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.