Identification of Phenanthrene Metabolites Produced by Polyporus sp. S133

Polyporus sp. S133, a fungus collected from contaminated-soil, was used to degrade phenanthrene, a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH), in soil. A maximal degradation rate (89%) was obtained when Polyporus sp. S133 was cultured with shitake’s nutrient addition for 30 days, as compared to just 44% degradation in non-supplemented cultures. When the fungus Polyporus sp. S133 was grown in presence of phenanthrene, two metabolites, 9,10phenanthrenequinone and 2,2′-diphenic acid were identified using UV-VIS chromatography, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and thin layer chromatography (TLC). Fungus Polyporus sp. S133 initiates phenanthrene degradation via dioxygenation at the C-9 and C10 ring positions to form 9,10phenanthrenequinone and the ortho-cleavage of the 9,10-diol leads to the formation of 2,2′-diphenic acid. Metabolism of phenanthrene in soil by Polyporus sp. S133 was investigated for the first time, in this study.