Synergistic degradation of pyrene and volatilization of arsenic by cocultures of bacteria and a fungus

The combination of two bacteria (Bacillus sp. PY1 and Sphingomonas sp. PY2) and a fungus (Fusarium sp. PY3), isolated from contaminated soils near a coking plant, were investigated with respect to their capability to degrade pyrene and volatilize arsenic. The results showed that all strains could use pyrene and arsenic as carbon and energy sources in a basal salts medium (BSM), with the combined potential to degrade pyrene and volatilize arsenic. Bacillus sp. PY1, Sphingomonas sp. PY2 and Fusarium sp. PY3 were isolated from the consortium and were shown to degrade pyrene and volatilize arsenic independently and in combination. Fungal-bacterial coculture has shown that the most effective removal of pyrene was 96.0% and volatilized arsenic was 84.1% after incubation in liquid medium after 9 days culture, while bioremediation ability was 87.2% in contaminated soil with 100 mg·kg^?1 pyrene. The highest level of arsenic volatilization amounted to 13.9% of the initial As concentration in contaminated soil after 63 days. Therefore, a synergistic degradation system is the most effective approach to degrade pyrene and remove arsenic in contaminated soil. These findings highlight the role of these strains in the bioremediation of environments contaminated with pyrene and arsenic.