One-electron oxidation in the degradation of creosote polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons by Phanerochaete chrysosporium.

The abilities of whole cultures of Phanerochaete chrysosporium and P. chrysosporium manganese peroxidase-mediated lipid peroxidation reactions to degrade the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) found in creosote were studied. The disappearance of 12 three- to six-ring PAHs occurred in both systems. Both in vivo and in vitro, the disappearance of all PAHs was found to be very strongly correlated with ionization potential. This was true even for compounds beyond the ionization potential thresholds of lignin peroxidase and Mn3+. Deviations from this correlation were seen in the cases of PAHs which are susceptible to radical addition reactions. These results thus begin to clarify the mechanisms of non-lignin peroxidase-labile PAH degradation in the manganese peroxidase-lipid peroxidation system and provide further evidence for the ability of this system to explain the in vivo oxidation of these compounds.