Effect of fungal pellet morphology on enzyme activities involved in phthalate degradation

Pellet size of white rot fungus, Pleurotus ostreatus may affect the secretion of its degradative enzymes and accompanying biodegrading capability, but could be controlled by several physical culture conditions in liquid culture. The pellet size of P. ostreatus was affected by the volume of inoculum, flask, and medium, but the agitation speed was the most important control factor. At the lower agitation speed of 100 rpm, the large pellets were formed and the laccase activity was higher than that of small pelleted culture at 150 rpm, which might be due to loose intrapellet structure. However, the biodegradation rates of benzylbutylphthalate and dimethylphthalate were higher in the small pelleted culture, which indicated the involvement of other degradative enzyme rather than laccase. The activity of esterase which catalyzes the nonphenolic compounds before the reaction of ligninolytic enzymes was higher in the small pelleted culture, and coincided with the degradation pattern of phthalates. This study suggests the optimization of pellet morphology and subsequent secretion of degradative enzymes is necessary for the efficient removal of recalcitrants by white rot fungi.