The fungi kingdom, discovering their abilities to break down xenobiotics

Xenobiotic compounds such as perfluoroalky substances have been plaguing our ecosystem by entering our food and water supplies. Globally, regulatory agencies are meeting to set threshold limits. Various remediation and bioremediation solutions have been developed as treatment solutions; however, very few address proper remediation. The area of bioremediation using bacteria has demonstrated positive results; however, fungi continue to be an under researched organism. Fungi have proven to breakdown complex compounds such as lignin, persistent organic pollutants (Singleton ,2001), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) (Cerniglia and Sutherland, 2001), benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylenes (BETX compounds) (Buswell, 2001) and pesticides (Pinto et al., 2012).

This project will focus on fungi’s ability to breakdown halogenated compounds. Initial screenings will be done to select appropriate fungal candidates. Successful candidates will then be tested on more complex xenobiotics.

The project aims will be to identify enzymes produced to degrade these compounds.