Isolation and identification of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon degrading microbes and it’s relationship with ligninolytic potential

Petroleum hydrocarbons are widespread in the environment and they have adverse effect on human beings. They are difficult to remove from environment by natural processes. In order to mitigate this problem, the efficiency of microorganisms has been evaluated for the degradation of poly cyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The soil samples were collected from three different places viz., Kolli hills, PAHs contaminated soil and garden soil. Bacterial and fungal strains were isolated from the collected soil samples and the physical parameters of soil were analysed. The ligninolytic activity of the isolated microorganisms were estimated and identified. Fifteen bacterial and seven fungal strains were isolated. Of them, seven bacteria and two fungi showed maximum ligninolytic activity