Suhara H, Daikoku C, Takata H, Suzuki S, Matsufuji Y, Sakai K, Kondo R
Laboratory of Systematic Forest and Forest Products Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture, Kyushu University, 6-10-1 Hakozaki, Higashi-ku, 812-8581 Fukuoka, Japan.
Appl Microbiol Biotechnol. 2003 Oct;62(5-6):601-7. doi: 10.1007/s00253-003-1284-9. Epub 2003 Jun 26.
Bioremediation is a low-cost treatment alternative for the cleanup of polychlorinated-dioxin-contaminated soils and fly ash when pollution spread is wide-ranging. An interesting fungus, Ceriporia sp. MZ-340, with a high ability to degrade dioxin, was isolated from white rotten wood of a broadleaf tree from Kyushu Island in Japan. We have attempted to use the fungus for bioremediation of polychlorinated-dioxin-contaminated soil on site. However, we have to consider that this trial has the potential problem of introducing a biohazard to a natural ecosystem if this organism is naturalized. We have therefore developed a monitoring system for the introduced fungus as a part of the examination and evaluation of bioremediation in our laboratory. We have also developed a PCR-based assay to reliably detect the fungus at the bioremediation site. DNA isolated from the site was amplified by PCR using a specific primer derived from internal transcribed spacer region (ITS: ITS1, 5.8S rDNA and ITS2) sequences of Ceriporia sp. MZ-340. We successfully monitored Ceriporia sp. MZ-340 down to 100 fg/ micro l DNA and down to 2 mg/g mycelium. We also successfully monitored the fungus specifically at the bioremediation site. The polychlorinated dibenzo- p-dioxin and polychlorinated dibenzofuran content was observed to decrease in response to treatment with the fungus. The species-specific PCR technique developed in the present work is useful in evaluating the possibility of on-site bioremediation using the fungus Ceriporia sp. MZ-340.
