Elhusseiny S.M.Amin H.M.Shebl R.I.Department of Microbiology and ImmunologyFaculty of PharmacyAhram Canadian University (ACU)4th Industrial Area6th of October CityCairo12566Egypt; Department of Microbiology and ImmunologyFaculty of PharmacyModern Sciences and Arts University (MSA)6th of October CityCairoEgypt2020-01-092020-01-09201911396709https://doi.org/10.1007/s10123-018-00041-5PubMed ID 30810987https://t.ly/y6Mn5ScopusMSA Google ScholarBiodegradation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) using Pleurotus ostreatus was investigated in the current study along with the expression levels of laccase genes involved in biodegradation under variable conditions. Biodegradation of PAHs (naphthalene, anthracene, and 1,10-phenanthroline) was detected spectrophotometrically. Recorded data revealed that biodegradation of the tested PAHs was time dependent. Elevated level of naphthalene biodegradation (86.47%) was observed compared to anthracene (27.87%) and 1,10-phenanthroline (24.51%) within 3�days post incubation. Naphthalene was completely degraded within 5�days. Further incubation enhanced the biodegradation of both anthracene and 1,10-phenanthroline until reaches 93.69% and 92.00% biodegradation of the initial concentration within an incubation period of 11 and 14�days, respectively. Naphthalene was selected as a PAH model. HPLC and thin layer chromatography of naphthalene biodegradation products at time intervals proposed that naphthalene was first degraded to ?- and ?-naphthol which was further metabolized to salicylic and benzoic acid. The metabolic pathway of naphthalene degradation by this fungus was elucidated based on the detected metabolites. The expression profile of six laccase isomers was evaluated using real-time PCR. The transcriptome of the fungal laccase isomers recorded higher levels of transcription under optimized fermentation conditions especially in presence of both naphthalene and Tween 80. The accumulation of such useful metabolites from the biodegradation of PAH pollutants recommended white rot fungus as a potential candidate for production of platform chemicals from PAH wastes. � 2018, Springer Nature Switzerland AG.EnglishBiodegradationPleurotus ostreatusPolycyclic aromatic hydrocarbonsWhite rot funguslaccasenaphthalenenaphthalene derivativepolycyclic aromatic hydrocarbonbiosynthesisbiotransformationenzymologygene expression profilinggeneticsmetabolismPleurotusspectrophotometrytime factorBiotransformationGene Expression ProfilingLaccaseMetabolic Networks and PathwaysNaphthalenesPleurotusPolycyclic Aromatic HydrocarbonsSpectrophotometryTime FactorsArticlehttps://doi.org/10.1007/s10123-018-00041-5PubMed ID 30810987