Edible fungus degrade bisphenol A with no harmful effect on its fatty acid composition.

Bisphenol A (BPA) is an endocrine-disrupting chemical that is ubiquitous in the environment because of its broad industrial use. The authors report that the most widely cultivated mushroom in the world (i.e., white-rot fungus, Pleurotus ostreatus) efficiently degraded 10mg/L of BPA in 7 days. Extracellular laccase was identified as the enzyme responsible for this activity. LC-MS analysis of the metabolites revealed the presence of both low- and high-molecular-weight products obtained via oxidative cleavage and coupling reactions, respectively. In particular, an analysis of the fatty acid composition and chemical structure of the fungal mycelium demonstrated that exposure to BPA resulted in no harmful effects on this edible fungus. The results provide a better understanding of the environmental fate of BPA and its potential impact on food crops.