Forty-nine white-rot strains belonging to 38 species of Basidiomycota were evaluated for olive-mill wastewater (OMW) degradation. Almost all fungi caused high total phenolics (>60%) and color (⩽ 70%) reduction, while COD and phytotoxicity decreased to a lesser extent. Culture extracts from selected Agrocybe cylindracea, Inonotus andersonii, Pleurotus ostreatus and Trametes versicolor strains showed non-altered physicochemical and enzymatic activity profiles when applied to raw OMW in the presence or absence of commercial catalase, indicating no interaction of the latter with fungal enzymes and no competition for H2O2. Hydrogen peroxide's addition resulted in drastic OMW's decolorization, with no effect on phenolic content, suggesting that oxidation affects colored components, but not necessarily phenolics. When fungal extracts were heat-treated, no phenolics decrease was observed demonstrating thus their enzymatic rather than physicochemical oxidation. Laccases added to OMW were reversibly inhibited by the effluent's high phenolic load, while peroxidases were stable and active during the entire process.

Agricultural University of Athens Laboratory of General and Agricultural Microbiology Iera Odos 75 11855 Athens Greece

Agricultural University of Athens Laboratory of Soils and Agricultural Chemistry Iera Odos 75 11855 Athens Greece

Democritus University of Thrace Department of Environmental Engineering Laboratory of Wastewater Management and Treatment Technologies Vas Sofias 12 67100 Xanthi Greece

Institute of Microbiology of the ASCR Videnska 1083 14220 Prague Czech Republic

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