Trichoderma harzianum · Atlas of Contaminated Sites

How it works

Mechanisms: mycodegradation
Enzymes: cyanide hydratase, rhodanese

Contaminants

Contaminant	Evidence	What was shown
Cyanide	laboratory	Four strains of T. harzianum and one of T. pseudokoningii degrade cyanide through both the cyanide hydratase and the rhodanese routes (rhodanese KmCN 7-16 mM, pH optimum 8.5-10.5); beta-cyanoalanine synthase was not detected. A later paper by the same authors reports plant microcosm tests, of which only the title was consulted. Ezzi (2001) Cyanide detoxification by soil microorganisms. PhD thesis, University of Surrey (Europe PMC record), europepmc.org, 2001 Ezzi & Lynch (2005) Plant microcosm studies demonstrating bioremediation of cyanide toxicity by Trichoderma and Fusarium spp. Biol Fertil Soils 42:40-44, 2005
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons	laboratory	A T. harzianum strain isolated from the soil of a former gasworks is one of five fungi able to degrade pyrene as sole carbon source in submerged culture (the other four are Penicillium). Saraswathy & Hallberg (2002) Degradation of pyrene by indigenous fungi from a former gasworks site. FEMS Microbiol Lett 210:227-232, 2002

Contaminant

Evidence

What was shown

laboratory

Four strains of T. harzianum and one of T. pseudokoningii degrade cyanide through both the cyanide hydratase and the rhodanese routes (rhodanese KmCN 7-16 mM, pH optimum 8.5-10.5); beta-cyanoalanine synthase was not detected. A later paper by the same authors reports plant microcosm tests, of which only the title was consulted.

Ezzi (2001) Cyanide detoxification by soil microorganisms. PhD thesis, University of Surrey (Europe PMC record), europepmc.org, 2001
Ezzi & Lynch (2005) Plant microcosm studies demonstrating bioremediation of cyanide toxicity by Trichoderma and Fusarium spp. Biol Fertil Soils 42:40-44, 2005

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

laboratory

A T. harzianum strain isolated from the soil of a former gasworks is one of five fungi able to degrade pyrene as sole carbon source in submerged culture (the other four are Penicillium).

Saraswathy & Hallberg (2002) Degradation of pyrene by indigenous fungi from a former gasworks site. FEMS Microbiol Lett 210:227-232, 2002

Limits

The main cyanide source is a PhD thesis; measurements are enzymatic and in culture. For pyrene the abstract gives no percentage for the Trichoderma strain. Use of Trichoderma in xenobiotic biodegradation remains limited compared with its use in biocontrol (Zafra & Cortés-Espinosa 2015). No field trial was found.