Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) is a widely used plasticizer, which is considered an endocrine disrupting pollutant. Growth kinetics and esterases activity by biochemical tests and polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis were characterized for Fusarium culmorum grown in DEHP-supplemented (1000 mg/L) medium as the only carbon source and in control medium with glucose. Intermediate compounds of biodegraded DEHP were identified by GC-MS. F. culmorum degraded 92% of DEHP within 36 h. DEHP was degraded to butanol, hexanal, catechol and acetic acid. It is suggested that the first two compounds would transform into butanediol and the last two would enter into the Krebs cycle and would be mineralized to CO₂ and H₂O. DEHP induced eight esterase isoforms, which were different to those constitutive isoforms produced in the control medium. It is suggested that five enzymes (25.7, 29.5, 31.8, 97.6 and 144.5 kDa) detected during the first 36 h be involved in the primary biodegradation of DEHP. The rest of the enzymes (45.9, 66.6 and 202.9 kDa) might be involved in the final steps for DEHP metabolism. F. culmorum has a promising practical application in the treatment of DEHP-contaminated environments because it can secrete specific esterase to breakdown high concentrations of DEHP in a short period of time. This research represents the first approach for the study of esterase involved in the DEHP degradation by fungi using this phthalate as the sole source of carbon and energy.

邻苯二甲酸二（2-乙基己基）酯（DEHP）是一种广泛使用的增塑剂，被认为是破坏内分泌的污染物。通过生化测试和聚丙烯酰胺凝胶电泳，对在以DEHP补充（1000 mg / L）的培养基作为唯一碳源和在以葡萄糖为对照的培养基中生长的镰刀菌的生长动力学和酯酶活性进行了表征。通过GC-MS鉴定了生物降解的DEHP的中间化合物。镰刀菌在36小时内降解了92％的DEHP。DEHP降解为丁醇，己醛，邻苯二酚和乙酸。建议前两种化合物将转化为丁二醇，后两种将进入克雷布斯循环并矿化为CO ₂和H ₂O. DEHP诱导了八种酯酶同工型，这与对照培养基中产生的那些组成型同工型不同。建议在最初的36小时内检测到5种酶（25.7、29.5、31.8、97.6和144.5 kDa）与DEHP的初步生物降解有关。其余的酶（45.9、66.6和202.9 kDa）可能参与DEHP代谢的最终步骤。F. culmorum在治疗DEHP污染的环境中具有广阔的应用前景，因为它可以分泌特定的酯酶以在短时间内分解高浓度的DEHP。这项研究代表了一种研究酯酶参与真菌降解DEHP的第一种方法，这种邻苯二甲酸酯是唯一的碳和能量来源。