Studies on Pesticides Mixture Degradation by White Rot Fungi

The capacity of five white rot fungi species to degrade linuron, metribuzin and chlorpyrifos when applied both as single pesticides and mixed together in different concentrations on nutritionally poor media was investigated. Our results suggested that Pleurotus ostreatus, Pycnoporus coccineus, Phlebiopsis gigatea and Τrametes versicolor showed a remarkable tolerance to the pesticides, in all media tested. The EC₅₀ values presented a noticeable difference in the mixtures as compared with the individual ones. The minimum growth rate in the mixture was obtained by P. ostreatus whereas P. coccineus appeared to be more efficient than the rest fungal isolates, when cultivated in the soil extract medium. P. coccineus, P. gigantea and T. versicolor produce high levels of polyphenol oxidase, but only T. versicolor was capable of decomposing linuron when combined with metribuzin and chlorpyrifos.