Adaptation of the white-rot basidiomycete Panus tigrinus for transformation of high concentrations of chlorophenols

During feed-batch cultivation of the white-rot fungus Panus tigrinus in a 5-1 bioreactor on N-limited medium, 100, 200, 500, 1,000 and 2,000 mg 2,4,6-trichlorophenol (2,4,6-TCP) l(-1) were added sequentially after 90% removal of the previous portion of the toxicant. The addition of 500 mg 2,4,6-TCP l(-1) without preliminary adaptation killed the culture. The addition of 300 mg 2,4,6-TCP l(-1) without prior adaptation resulted in its slower removal than removal of 2,000 mg 2,4,6-TCP l(-1) by this adapted culture. After adaptation of P. tigrinus to 2,4,6-TCP in a 72-1 bioreactor, the mixture of 2,4-dichlorophenol, 2,4,6-TCP, and pentachlorophenol, each at 500 mg l(-1), was totally removed over 3 weeks. No lignin peroxidase activity was found in the course of cultivation of the fungus. Laccase activity was suppressed by addition of 2,4,6-TCP. Mn-peroxidase was found to be responsible for transformation of the chlorophenols. As final products of the process, several newly formed aromatic polymers, both chlorinated and nonchlorinated, were found in the culture liquid.