ABSTRACT

This chapter addresses the potential for genetic engineering fungal genomes, with a specific focus on targeting the intracellular gene products related to Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) degradation, the cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes. Non-enzymatic systems exploit the superficial and internal composition of whole-cell fungi to produce physicochemical interactions between biomass and the contaminant, though full elimination and neutralization of the pollutant is not achieved. Fungi operate with a battery of enzymes, both extracellular and intracellular, to counteract a high range of xenobiotic compounds. During, bioremediation treatments carried out with white-rot fungi in non-ligninolytic conditions, many researchers have noted the involvement of CYP enzymes in the degradation of PAHs and/or xenobiotic compounds. The modification and amplification of the microbial metabolisms with capacities for degradation of PAH in polluted sites remains an appealing opportunity for bioremediation. A handful of scientific institutions have committed to fully sequencing strains of fungi, including varieties which have proven useful in bioremediation efforts.