PYRENE METABOLISM IN CRINIPELLIS-STIPITARIA - IDENTIFICATION OF TRANS-4,5-DIHYDRO-4,5-DIHYDROXYPYRENE AND 1-PYRENYLSULFATE IN STRAIN JK364

The isolation and identification of two novel metabolites in the fungal metabolism of pyrene are described. The plant-inhabiting basidiomycete Crinipellis stipitaria JK364 metabolized pyrene, a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon containing four rings, when grown in submerged cultures in a medium containing malt extract, glucose, and yeast extract. In experiments with [C-14]pyrene, after 7 days of incubation 40% of the labeled substrate was converted into organic solvent-extractable metabolites. Metabolites isolated from cultures grown with pyrene were identified as 1-pyrenylsulfate and trans-4,5-dihydro-4,5-dihydroxypyrene. 1-Hydroxypyrene, the precursor of 1-pyrenylsulfate, was also detected. 1-Pyrenylsulfate was isolated from mycelial extracts, whereas trans-4,5-dihydro-4,5-dihydroxypyrene was recovered from the culture filtrate. Identification of the compounds,vas based on their UV spectra, mass spectra, and nuclear magnetic resonance spectra. This is the first report on the detoxification of a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon by a plant-inhabiting basidiomycete. The occurrence of 1-pyrenylsulfate and trans-4,5-dihydro-4,5-dihydroxypyrene among fungal metabolites of pyrene is also new.