Biodegradation and detoxification of olive mill wastewater by selected strains of the mushroom genera Ganoderma and Pleurotus

Thirty-nine white-rot fungi belonging to nine species of Agaricomycotina (Basidiomycota) were initially screened for their ability to decrease olive-mill wastewater (OMW) phenolics. Four strains of Ganoderma australe, Ganoderma carnosum, Pleurotus eryngii and Pleurotus ostreatus, were selected and further examined for key-aspects of the OMW biodegradation process. Fungal growth in OMW-containing batch cultures resulted in significant decolorization (by 40–46% and 60–65% for Ganoderma and Pleurotus spp. respectively) and reduction of phenolics (by 64–67% and 74–81% for Ganoderma and Pleurotus spp. respectively). COD decrease was less pronounced (12–29%). Cress-seeds germination increased by 30–40% when OMW was treated by Pleurotus strains. Toxicity expressed as inhibition of Aliivibrio fischeri luminescence was reduced in fungal-treated OMW samples by approximately 5–15 times compared to the control. As regards the pertinent enzyme activities, laccase and Mn-independent peroxidase were detected for Ganoderma spp. during the entire incubation period. In contrast, Pleurotus spp. did not exhibit any enzyme activities at early growth stages; instead, high laccase (five times greater than those of Ganoderma spp.) and Mn peroxidases activities were determined at the end of treatment. OMW decolorization by Ganoderma strains was strongly correlated to the reduction of phenolics, whereas P. eryngii laccase activity was correlated with the effluent’s decolorization.

► High variability for 39 white-rot fungi in respect to OMW phenolics decrease.
► Selected Ganoderma and Pleurotus spp. with high OMW dephenolization/decolorization.
► OMW biotoxicity reduced by approximately 5–15 times in fungal-treated samples.
► Different time patterns of enzymes activity between the two mushroom genera studied.
► High laccase activity correlated with high OMW decolorization in Pleurotus eryngii.