White-Rot Fungi in Bioremediation

Abstract

Bioremediation is defined as the application of biological processes to the treatment of pollution. Most research on the field of bioremediation has focused on bacteria, and fungal bioremediation (mycoremediation) has also been attracting the interest just for a couple of decades. The toxicity of many pollutants reduces natural attenuation of bacteria, but white-rot fungi (WRF) can challenge with toxic levels of the most pollutants. Fungi are robust organisms having very high tolerance to toxic environments, and this feature makes them ideal to use for bioremedial purposes. White-rot fungi are basidiomycetes that are capable of degrading a lignocellulose substrate. Extracellular enzymes involved in the degradation of lignin and xenobiotics by white-rot fungi include several kinds of laccases, peroxidases, and oxidases producing H2O2. Nowadays, great progress in this area may derive from modern molecular technologies, which may provide cheaper potential sources of various enzymes by means of genetically modified microorganisms or plants. This chapter explains the bioremediation and its application conditions and degradation mechanisms of the harmful compounds such as textile dyes, PAHs, chlorophenols, TNT, pesticides, and nylon.