Effects of a brine discharge over soft bottom Polychaeta assemblage

Desalination is a growing activity that has introduced a new impact, brine discharge, which may affect benthic communities. Although the role of polychaetes as indicators to assess organic pollution is well known, their tolerance to salinity changes has not been examined to such a great extent. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of brine discharge over soft bottom polychaete assemblage along the Alicante coast (Southeast Spain) over a two year period. Changes in the polychaete assemblage was analysed using univariate and multivariate techniques. We compared a transect in front of the discharge with two controls. At each transect we sampled at three depths (4, 10 and 15 m) during winter and summer. We have observed different sensitivity of polychaete families to brine discharges, Ampharetidae being the most sensitive, followed by Nephtyidae and Spionidae. Syllidae and Capitellidae showed some resistance initially, while Paraonidae proved to be a tolerant family.     

Fast preparation of the seawater accommodated fraction of heavy fuel oil by sonication

The seawater accommodated fraction (SWAF) of oil is widely used for the assessment of its toxicity. However, its preparation in the laboratory is time consuming, and results from different authors are difficult to compare as preparation methods vary. Here we describe a simple and fast set up, using sonication, to produce reproducible SWAF in the laboratory. The system was tested on heavy fuel oil placed on seawater at different salinity and temperature conditions. Maximum dissolution of the oil was achieved after 24 h, independently of both seawater salinity and temperature. Our findings are discussed in relation to the fate of the oil from the deep spill of the Prestige tanker. Changes in temperature in the open ocean are bound to have larger impact in the concentration of the SWAF than the corresponding values of sea water salinity. We anticipate that in this type of incident the highest SWAF, as the oil reaches the sea surface, should be expected in the warmest and less saline waters of the water column.     

Assessing the nature of the combined effects of copper and zinc on estuarine infaunal communities

Elevated levels of copper and zinc in sediment have been shown to adversely affect estuarine infauna. We investigated the additivity of the combined effects of copper and zinc on infaunal recolonisation through a manipulative field experiment in Orewa estuary, New Zealand, using defaunated sediment discs treated with these metals. The nature of their combined effects varied among infaunal taxa and the particular variables being examined. Additive effects were detected for species richness, for the mean log abundances of the polychaetes Prionospio sp. and Scoloplos cylindrifer and for the multivariate response of the community as a whole. Antagonistic effects were detected for the mean log abundances of total infauna and the polychaete Heteromastus sp. Characterising the potentially interactive nature of the combined effects of multiple heavy metals is essential in order to build predictive models of future environmental impacts of metal accumulation in estuarine sediments.     

Microbial diversity,community composition and metabolic potential in hydrocarbon contaminated oily sludge: prospects for in situ bioremediation

Microbial community composition and metabolic potential have been explored in petroleum-hydrocarbon-contaminated sludge of an oil storage facility. Culture-independent clone library-based 16S rRNA gene analyses revealed that the bacterial community within the sludge was dominated by the members of β-Proteobacteria (35 %), followed by Firmicutes (13 %), δ-Proteobacteria (11 %), Bacteroidetes (10 %), Acidobacteria (6 %), α-Proteobacteria (3 %), Lentisphaerae (2 %), Spirochaetes (2 %), and unclassified bacteria (5 %), whereas the archaeal community was composed of Thermoprotei (54 %), Methanocellales (33 %), Methanosarcinales/Methanosaeta (8 %) and Methanoculleus (1 %) members. Methyl coenzyme M reductase A (mcrA) gene (a functional biomarker) analyses also revealed predominance of hydrogenotrophic, methanogenic Archaea (Methanocellales, Methanobacteriales and Methanoculleus members) over acetoclastic methanogens (Methanosarcinales members). In order to explore the cultivable bacterial population, a total of 28 resident strains were identified and characterized in terms of their physiological and metabolic capabilities. Most of these could be taxonomically affiliated to the members of the genera Bacillus, Paenibacillus, Micrococcus, Brachybacterium, Aerococcus, and Zimmermannella, while two strains were identified as Pseudomonas and Pseudoxanthomonas. Metabolic profiling exhibited that majority of these isolates were capable of growing in presence of a variety of petroleum hydrocarbons as sole source of carbon, tolerating different heavy metals at higher concentrations (≥1 mM) and producing biosurfactant during growth. Many strains could grow under a wide range of pH, temperature, or salinity as well as under anaerobic conditions in the presence of different electron acceptors and donors in the growth medium. Correlation between the isolates and their metabolic properties was estimated by the unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean (UPGMA) analysis. Overall observation indicated the presence of diverse groups of microorganisms including hydrocarbonoclastic, nitrate reducing, sulphate reducing, fermentative, syntrophic, methanogenic and methane-oxidizing bacteria and Archaea within the sludge community, which can be exploited for in situ bioremediation of the oily sludge.     

Suitability of different salt marsh plants for petroleum hydrocarbons remediation

The suitability of the salt-marsh species Halimione portulacoides, Scirpus maritimus, Juncus maritimus and an association of the last two for remediation of petroleum hydrocarbons (PHC) in soil was investigated. An outdoor laboratory experiment (microcosm-scale) was carried out using contaminated soil collected in a refinery, as a complement of another study carried out in the refinery environment (mesocosm-scale). Soil samples with old contamination (mainly crude oil) and with a mixture of the old and recent (turbine oil) contamination were tested. Studies in both micro- and mesocosm-scale provided results coherent in substance. The presence of S. maritimus caused removal of old contamination which was refractory to natural attenuation (after 7 months of exposure, efficiency was 13% when only old contamination was present and 40% when the soil also contained recent contamination). H. portulacoides (only included in the microcosm-scale study) revealed also potentiality for PHC remediation, although with less efficiency than S. maritimus. Degradation of recent contamination was also faster in the presence of plants (after 7 months: 100% in the presence of S. maritimus vs. 63% in its absence). As these species are common in salt marsh areas in Atlantic coast of Europe, it is probable they will be also useful for recovering coast sediments. In contrast, J. maritimus and association did not reveal capability to remove PHC from soil, the presence of J. maritimus inhibiting the capability of S. maritimus.     

Antibacterial activity of different natural honeys from Transylvania,Romania

Honey is used in food industry and medicine due to its nutritive, therapeutic and dietetic qualities. The microbiological characteristics of 10 unpasteurized honey samples of known origin, collected from Transylvania beekeepers (Romania) were determined. The antibacterial activity of these types of honey against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Salmonella enteritidis, Salmonella anatum, Salmonella choleraesuis, Bacillus cereus, Bacillus subtilis subsp. spizizenii and Listeria monocytogenes strains was studied. The most sensitive to the antibacterial activity were the two staphylococus strains (the largest diameter of inhibition zone was 18 mm) and B. subtilis strains (13.5 mm). The strains of B. cereus, E. coli, L. monocytogenes and Salmonella spp. were found to present resistance to some of the honey samples. Manna, sunflower and polyfloral honeys presented high antibacterial activity while acacia and linden honeys had a lower activity in terms of the number of sensible strains. Statistical analysis shows that the type of strains and the type of honey have influence on the diameter of inhibition.     

Aphanizomenon gracile (Nostocales), a cylindrospermopsin-producing cyanobacterium in Polish lakes

The cyanobacterial cytotoxin cylindrospermopsin (CYN) has become increasingly common in fresh waters worldwide. It was originally isolated from Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii in Australia; however, in European waters, its occurrence is associated with other cyanobacterial species belonging to the genera Aphanizomenon and Anabaena. Moreover, cylindrospermopsin-producing strains of widely distributed C. raciborskii have not yet been observed in European waters. The aims of this work were to assess the occurrence of CYN in lakes of western Poland and to identify the CYN producers. The ELISA tests, high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)-DAD, and HPLC-mass spectrometry (MS)/MS were conducted to assess the occurrence of CYN in 36 lakes. The cyrJ, cyrA, and pks genes were amplified to identify toxigenic genotypes of cyanobacteria that are capable of producing CYN. The toxicity and toxigenicity of the C. raciborskii and Aphanizomenon gracile strains isolated from the studied lakes were examined. Overall, CYN was detected in 13 lakes using HPLC-MS/MS, and its concentrations varied from trace levels to 3.0 μg?L^?1. CYN was widely observed in lakes of western Poland during the whole summer under different environmental conditions. Mineral forms of nutrients and temperature were related to CYN production. The molecular studies confirmed the presence of toxigenic cyanobacterial populations in all of the samples where CYN was detected. The toxicity and toxigenicity analyses of isolated cyanobacteria strains revealed that A. gracile was the major producer of CYN.     

Assessment of the applicability of a “toolbox” designed for microbially assisted phytoremediation: the case study at Ingurtosu mining site (Italy)

The paper describes the fieldwork at the Italian test site of the abandoned mine of sphalerite and galena in Ingurtosu (Sardinia), with the aim to assess the applicability of a “toolbox” to establish the optimized techniques for remediation of soils contaminated by mining activities. A preliminary characterization—including (hydro)geochemistry, heavy metal concentration and their mobility in soil, bioprospecting for microbiology and botany—provided a data set for the development of a toolbox to deliver a microbially assisted phytoremediation process. Euphorbia pithyusa was selected as an endemic pioneer plant to be associated with a bacterial consortium, established with ten selected native strains, including metal-tolerant bacteria and producers of plant growth factors. The toolbox was firstly assessed in a greenhouse pot experiment. A positive effect of bacterial inoculum on E. pithyusa germination and total plant survival was observed. E. pithyusa showed to be a well-performing metallophyte species, and only inoculated soil retained a microbial activity with a high functional diversity, expanding metabolic affinity also towards root exudates. These results supported the decision to proceed with a field trial, investigating different treatments used singly or in combination: bioaugmentation with bacterial consortia, mycorrhizal fungi and a commercial mineral amendment. Microbial activity in soil, plant physiological parameters and heavy metal content in plants and in soil were monitored. Five months after the beginning, an early assessment of the toolbox under field conditions was carried out. Despite the cold season (October–March), results suggested the following: (1) the field setup as well as the experimental design proved to be effective; (2) plant survival was satisfactory; (3) soil quality was increased and bioaugmentation improved microbial activity, expanding the metabolic competences towards plant interaction (root exudates); and (4) multivariate analysis supported the data provided that the proposed toolbox can be established and the field trial can be carried forward.     

Fast preparation of the seawater accommodated fraction of heavy fuel oil by sonication

The seawater accommodated fraction (SWAF) of oil is widely used for the assessment of its toxicity. However, its preparation in the laboratory is time consuming, and results from different authors are difficult to compare as preparation methods vary. Here we describe a simple and fast set up, using sonication, to produce reproducible SWAF in the laboratory. The system was tested on heavy fuel oil placed on seawater at different salinity and temperature conditions. Maximum dissolution of the oil was achieved after 24 h, independently of both seawater salinity and temperature. Our findings are discussed in relation to the fate of the oil from the deep spill of the Prestige tanker. Changes in temperature in the open ocean are bound to have larger impact in the concentration of the SWAF than the corresponding values of sea water salinity. We anticipate that in this type of incident the highest SWAF, as the oil reaches the sea surface, should be expected in the warmest and less saline waters of the water column.     

Preparation and X-ray structural characterization of further stereoisomers of 1,2,5,6,9,10-hexabromocyclododecane

Technical 1,2,5,6,9,10-hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD) consists largely of three diastereomers (α-, β-, and γ-HBCD) produced by the trans addition of bromine to cis,trans,trans-cyclododeca-1,5,9-triene (CDT). However, another seven diastereomers are theoretically possible and may be produced by trans addition of bromine across the double bonds of the other three isomers of 1,5,9-CDT. There are indications that small amounts of the minor HBCD isomers may be present in commercial HBCD mixtures or in products containing this brominated flame retardant (BFR). Such minor components may indeed derive from traces of other 1,5,9-CDTs in the cis, trans, trans starting material, however their formation may also be possible through isomerizations during the processing of this BFR or by bioisomerization subsequent to its release into the environment. Two of the seven additional diastereomers (δ- and ε-HBCD) were synthesized previously from trans,trans,trans-CDT. We now report the preparation of the remaining five diastereomers, ζ-, η-, and θ-HBCD from cis,cis,trans-CDT and ι- and κ-HBCD from cis,cis,cis-CDT, and their characterization by ¹H NMR spectroscopy and X-ray crystallography. The availability of these further diastereomers of HBCD should aid in determining if the minor isomers are present in commercial samples of this BFR, in products containing HBCDs, or in environmental samples. We have also carried out an X-ray crystal structure determination on ε-HBCD, so that crystal structures are now available for all 10 HBCD diastereomers.     

Biomonitoring marine habitats in reference to antibiotic resistant bacteria and ampicillin resistance determinants from oviductal fluid of the nesting green sea turtle, Chelonia mydas

During the egg-laying process, oviductal fluid was collected using a non-invasive procedure from the cloacal vent of the green turtles. Forty-two independent isolates of antibiotic-resistant bacteria from 11 genera were obtained from 20 turtles during nesting. The dominant isolate was Citrobacter (52.4%), followed by Pseudomonas, Proteus, Enterobacter, Salmonella, Escherichia coli, Shigella, Edwardsiella, Morganella, Providencia and Arcomobacter. Most of the isolates were resistant to ampicillin. Ampicillin-resistant isolates showed variations in their resistance for the following classes of β-lactamases: extended-spectrum β-lactamases (EBSLs), AmpC type β-lactamases C (AmpC), and screen-positive β-lactamase. None of the isolates produced metallo β-lactamase. Some ampicillin-resistant genes were detected by multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) only. Inhibitor based test (IBT) categorized some isolates as AmpC β-lactamase producers. β-Lactamase genes were detected from a few strains. The sequencing of those genes revealed the presence of cephamycinase (CMY) and AmpC β-lactamases. The oviductal fluid was used in this study as a source of bacterial antibiotic-resistant determinants for biomonitoring marine turtles exposed to contaminated effluents. This data can be of value in understanding the decline of this endangered species as a result of exposure to marine pollution which is threatening their survival.     

Combined effects of deltamethrin, temperature and salinity on oxidative stress biomarkers and acetylcholinesterase activity in the black tiger shrimp (Penaeus monodon)

This study aimed to investigate the interactions of two abiotic factors (temperature and salinity) and deltamethrin (pyrethroid pesticide) exposure on some oxidative stress biomarkers as well as on acetylcholinesterase activity (AChE) in hepatopancreas, gills and muscle of black tiger shrimp (Penaeus monodon). A combination of three temperatures (24, 29 and 34 °C), two salinities (15 and 25 ppt), and the absence or presence of 0.1 μg L⁻¹ deltamethrin was applied on shrimp during 4 d under laboratory conditions. Lipid peroxidation level (LPO) and glutathione S-transferase activity (GST) were not affected by combined effect of temperature, salinity and deltamethrin in any of the studied tissues. Deltamethrin impaired other tested oxidative stress biomarkers, i.e. total glutathione (tGSH), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx). tGSH level significantly increased in hepatopancreas due to deltamethrin exposure mainly at 34 °C, while pesticide effects on tGSH and CAT activity in gills were influenced by both temperature and salinity. In addition, GPx activity in hepatopancreas decreased after deltamethrin treatment mainly at 24 °C. Finally, AChE in muscle was strongly inhibited by deltamethrin at all tested temperatures and salinities. These novel findings demonstrate that interactions between abiotic factors and a commonly used pesticide exposure should be taken into account when analyzing some widespread biomarkers in black tiger shrimp.     

Effects of a sulfonylurea herbicide on the soil bacterial community

Sulfonylurea herbicides are widely used on a wide range of crops to control weeds. Chevalier® OnePass herbicide is a sulfonylurea herbicide intensively used on cereal crops in Algeria. No information is yet available about the biodegradation of this herbicide or about its effect on the bacterial community of the soil. In this study, we collected an untreated soil sample, and another sample was collected 1 month after treatment with the herbicide. Using a high-resolution melting DNA technique, we have shown that treatment with Chevalier® OnePass herbicide only slightly changed the composition of the whole bacterial community. Two hundred fifty-nine macroscopically different clones were isolated from the untreated and treated soil under both aerobic and microaerobic conditions. The strains were identified by sequencing a conserved fragment of the 16S rRNA gene. The phylogenetic trees constructed using the sequencing results confirmed that the bacterial populations were similar in the two soil samples. Species belonging to the Lysinibacillus, Bacillus, Pseudomonas, and Paenibacillus genera were the most abundant species found. Surprisingly, we found that among ten strains isolated from the treated soil, only six were resistant to the herbicide. Furthermore, bacterial overlay experiments showed that only one resistant strain (related to Stenotrophomonas maltophilia) allowed all the sensitive strains tested to grow in the presence of the herbicide. The other resistant strains allowed only certain sensitive strains to grow. On the basis of these results, we propose that there must be several biodegradation pathways for this sulfonylurea herbicide.     

Evaluation of the MIDTAL microarray chip for monitoring toxic microalgae in the Orkney Islands, U.K.

Harmful or nuisance algal blooms can cause economic damage to fisheries and tourism. Additionally, toxins produced by harmful algae and ingested via contaminated shellfish can be potentially fatal to humans. The seas around the Orkney Islands, UK currently hold a number of toxic algal species which cause shellfishery closures in most years. Extensive and costly monitoring programs are carried out to detect harmful microalgae before they reach action levels. However, the ability to distinguish between toxic and non-toxic strains of some algae is not possible using these methods. The microarrays for the detection of toxic algae (MIDTAL) microarray contains rRNA probes for toxic algal species/strains which have been adapted and optimized for microarray use. In order to investigate the use of the chip for monitoring in the Orkney Islands, samples were collected between 2009 and 2011 from Brings Deep, Scapa Flow, Orkney Islands, UK; RNA was extracted and hybridized with generation 2 and 3.1 of the chip. The data were then compared to cell counts performed under light microscopy and in the case of Alexandrium tamarense to qPCR data targeting the saxitoxin gene and the LSU-rRNA gene. A good agreement between cell numbers and microarray signal was found for A. tamarense, Pseudo-nitzschia sp., Dinophysis sp. (r?<?0.5, for all) in addition to this there the chip successfully detected a large bloom of Karenia mikimotoi (r?<?0.70) in August and September 2011. Overall, there was good improvement in probe signal between generation 2 and generation 3.1 of the chip with much less variability and more consistent results and better correlation between the probes. The chip performed well for A. tamarense group I signal to cell numbers in calibrations (r?>?0.9). However, in field samples, this correlation was slightly lower suggesting interactions between all species in the sample may affect signal. Overall, the chip showed it could identify the presence of target species in field samples although some work is needed to improve the quantitative nature of the chip before it would be suitable for monitoring in the Orkney Islands.     

What factors drive copepod community distribution in the Gulf of Gabes,Eastern Mediterranean Sea?

The spatial and temporal variations in copepod communities were investigated during four oceanographic cruises conducted between July 2005 and March 2007 aboard the R/V Hannibal. A close relationship was observed between the temperature, salinity, hydrographic properties and water masses characterising the Gulf of Gabes. Indeed, water thermal stratification began in May–June, and a thermocline was established at a 20-m depth, but ranged from 25 m in July to more than 30 m in September. The zooplankton community is dominated by copepods representing 69 % to 83 % of total zooplankton. Spatial and temporal variation of copepods in relation to environmental factors shows their close relationship with the hydrodynamic features of the water column. Thermal stratification in the column, established in summer, supports copepod development. In fact, copepod abundance increases gradually with rising water temperature and salinity, starting from the beginning of thermal stratification (May–June 2006) and lasting until its completion (July 2005 and September 2006). When the water column is well mixed (March 2007), copepod abundance decreased. Our finding shows that temperature and salinity seem to be the most important physical factors and thus strongly influence the taxonomic diversity and distribution of the copepod population. They are characterised by the dominance of Oithona nana, representing 75–86 % of total cyclopoid abundance. The most abundant species during the stratification period were O. nana, Acartia clausi and Stephos marsalensis in July 2005 and September 2006. However, during the mixing period, Euterpina acutifrons was more abundant, representing 21 % of the total. Unlike the copepod community, which is more abundant during the period of high stratification, phytoplankton proliferates during semi-mixed conditions.     

Tetracycline photolysis in natural waters: loss of antibacterial activity

Previous work has shown that tetracycline undergoes direct photolysis in the presence of sunlight, with the decomposition rate highly dependent on conditions such as water hardness and pH. The purpose of this study was to examine the potential long-term significance of photoproducts formed when tetracycline undergoes photodegradation under a range of environmentally relevant conditions. Tetracycline was photolyzed in nine different natural and artificial water samples using simulated sunlight. The pH values of the samples ranged from 5 to 9. Total hardness values (combined Ca²⁺ and Mg²⁺ concentrations) varied from 30 to 450 ppm. Assays based on growth inhibition of two bacterial strains, Escherichia coli DH5α and Vibrio fischeri, were used to determine the antibacterial activity of tetracycline’s photoproducts in these water samples. In all tested conditions, it was determined that the photoproducts retain no significant antibacterial activity; all observed growth inhibition was attributable to residual tetracycline. This suggests that tetracycline photoproducts formed under a wide range of pH and water hardness conditions will not contribute to the selection of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in environmental systems.     

The use of artificial neural network (ANN) for the prediction and simulation of oil degradation in wastewater by AOP

The application of advanced oxidation process (AOP) in the treatment of wastewater contaminated with oil was investigated in this study. The AOP investigated is the homogeneous photo-Fenton (UV/H₂O₂/Fe⁺²) process. The reaction is influenced by the input concentration of hydrogen peroxide H₂O₂, amount of the iron catalyst Fe⁺², pH, temperature, irradiation time, and concentration of oil in the wastewater. The removal efficiency for the used system at the optimal operational parameters (H₂O₂?=?400 mg/L, Fe⁺²?=?40 mg/L, pH?=?3, irradiation time?=?150 min, and temperature?=?30 °C) for 1,000 mg/L oil load was found to be 72 %. The study examined the implementation of artificial neural network (ANN) for the prediction and simulation of oil degradation in aqueous solution by photo-Fenton process. The multilayered feed-forward networks were trained by using a backpropagation algorithm; a three-layer network with 22 neurons in the hidden layer gave optimal results. The results show that the ANN model can predict the experimental results with high correlation coefficient (R ²?=?0.9949). The sensitivity analysis showed that all studied variables (H₂O₂, Fe⁺², pH, irradiation time, temperature, and oil concentration) have strong effect on the oil degradation. The pH was found to be the most influential parameter with relative importance of 20.6 %.     

Influence of environmental factors on the response of a natural population of Daphnia magna (Crustacea: Cladocera) to spinosad and Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis in Mediterranean coastal wetlands

The present study was undertaken to assess the impact of a candidate mosquito larvicide, spinosad (8, 17 and 33 μg L⁻¹) on a field population of Daphnia magna under natural variations of water temperature and salinity, using Bti (0.16 and 0.50 μL L⁻¹) as the reference larvicide. Microcosms (125 L) were placed in a shallow temporary marsh where D. magna was naturally present. The peak of salinity observed during the 21-day observation period may have been partly responsible for the decrease of daphnid population density in all the microcosms. It is also probably responsible for the absence of recovery in the microcosms treated with spinosad which caused a sharp decrease of D. magna abundance within the first two days following treatment whereas Bti had no effect. These results suggest that it may be difficult for a field population of daphnids to cope simultaneously with natural (water salinity and temperature) and anthropogenic (larvicides) stressors.     

Biodegradation and detoxification of olive mill wastewater by selected strains of the mushroom genera Ganoderma and Pleurotus

Thirty-nine white-rot fungi belonging to nine species of Agaricomycotina (Basidiomycota) were initially screened for their ability to decrease olive-mill wastewater (OMW) phenolics. Four strains of Ganoderma australe, Ganoderma carnosum, Pleurotus eryngii and Pleurotus ostreatus, were selected and further examined for key-aspects of the OMW biodegradation process. Fungal growth in OMW-containing batch cultures resulted in significant decolorization (by 40-46% and 60-65% for Ganoderma and Pleurotus spp. respectively) and reduction of phenolics (by 64-67% and 74-81% for Ganoderma and Pleurotus spp. respectively). COD decrease was less pronounced (12-29%). Cress-seeds germination increased by 30-40% when OMW was treated by Pleurotus strains. Toxicity expressed as inhibition of Aliivibrio fischeri luminescence was reduced in fungal-treated OMW samples by approximately 5-15 times compared to the control. As regards the pertinent enzyme activities, laccase and Mn-independent peroxidase were detected for Ganoderma spp. during the entire incubation period. In contrast, Pleurotus spp. did not exhibit any enzyme activities at early growth stages; instead, high laccase (five times greater than those of Ganoderma spp.) and Mn peroxidases activities were determined at the end of treatment. OMW decolorization by Ganoderma strains was strongly correlated to the reduction of phenolics, whereas P. eryngii laccase activity was correlated with the effluent’s decolorization.