A synthetic Bushnell Hass Mineral Salts medium (BHMS) was
used for the isolation of degrading yeasts. BHMS medium contained
(g L−1): KH2PO4, 1; K2HPO4, 0.2; MgSO4·7H2O, 0.2; CaCl2,
0.02; NH4NO3, 1; NaCl2; and 2 droplets of 60% FeCl3. The pH
was adjusted to 5/5–6. The BHMS medium was supplemented
with 1% (v/v) phenol as the sole source of carbon and energy. To
inhibit the growth of bacteria, 400L chloramphenicol (0.05%
v/v) was added to the BHMS medium. A portion of the soil (5 g)
or wastewater (5mL) sample was added to 250mL Erlenmeyer
flasks containing 100mL of the BHMS medium; the flasks were
incubated for 10 days at 30 ◦C on a rotary shaker (INFORS AG,
Germany) operating at 200 × g. Then, 5mL aliquots were transferred
to fresh BHMS medium. After a series of three further
subcultures, inoculums from the flask were streaked out, and
phenotypically different colonies were purified on Sabro dextrose
agar medium.15