New soil fungus strain Trichoderma harzianum 4-1 for alkylphenols degradation

A new fungus strain of the genus Trichoderma harzianum 4-1F was isolated and identified from soil contaminated with nonylphenols. Under conditions of cometabolism, strain 4-1F is highly effective in the biodegradation of nonylphenol and octylphenol at a high content of toxicants in the medium - up to 300 mg/l. The loss of alkylphenols is carried out mainly due to their biodegradation by strain 4-1F and to a small extent due to sorption by fungal cells. The biodegradation rate of nonylphenol is higher than that of octylphenol, which is associated with the greater toxicity of octylphenol. The half-life of nonylphenol at a concentration of 100 and 300 mg/l is 23 and 35 hours, respectively, while that of octylphenol at the same concentration is 46 and 63 hours. The ability to degrade alkylphenols for fungi of the genus Trichoderma harzianum was revealed for the first time. The revealed potential of the Trichoderma harzianum 4-1F strain to degrade toxic xenobiotics - nonyl- and octylphenols indicates the prospects for its use in the development of biological technologies for soil purification from xenobiotics with endocrine activity.