Zastosowanie pleśni z rodzaju Penicillinum do biodegradacji związków chloroorganicznych

Halogenated compounds occurwidely in the biosphere either as natural products or as xenobiotic compounds entering the environment with the use of herbicides and pesticides. In recent years some microorganisms have been reported capable of degrading many of these substrates. Microbial growth on halo-genated compounds requires production ofcatabolic enzymes to cleave the carbon-halogen bonds. The objective of the present study was to examine the ability ofPenicillium sp. G3 (isolated from soil) to degrade chlorinated substrates. Penicillium sp. G3 was able to grow on the investigated halogenated compounds as sole carbon/energy source. Of these, mono-and dichloropro-panes were found to be the best carbon/energy sources. Of the chlorinated acids used for the purpose of the study, 4-chlorobu- tyric and 5-chlorovaleric acids were the best substrates for the growth ofPenicillium sp. G3. All the investigated compounds were degraded with the release of chloride ions to the growth medium. The best substrate for dechlorination was 4-cmorobu-tyric acid. The addition of glucose to the medium stimulated dehalogenation. The results showed that Penicillium sp. G3was not able to mineralize the chemicals tested. Thus, to provide complete mineralization it is necessary to use a mixed popu lation of fungi and bacteria. Having a remarkable ability to dehalo-genate a variety of chlorinated compounds, Penicillium sp. G3 may become an effective component of a mixed culture, thus initiating mineralization of the investigated chemicals.