Degradation of dimethyl phthalate esters by a filamentous fungus Aspergillus versicolor isolated from deep-sea sediments

Abstract

AbstractDimethyl phthalate esters (DMPEs), which belong to phthalate esters (PAEs), are widely distributed environmental pollutants with endocrine-disrupting toxicity. The present study focused on a filamentous fungus capable of degrading DMPEs isolated from deep-sea sediments of the Indian Ocean at a water depth of 3300 m using an enrichment culture technique. The filamentous fungus was identified as