Strain BOL13 was selected from 18 fungal strains isolated from an oil-spill contaminated site in Oruro, Bolivia. It was identified as a basidiomycete with high homology to Bjerkandera. The fungus degraded 100 mg phenanthrene l(-1) at 0.17 mg l(-1) d(-1) at 30 degrees C at pH 7. During phenanthrene degradation, a maximum manganese peroxidase activity of 100-120 U l(-1) was measured after 10 days of incubation. The ability of Bjerkandera sp. to produce lignin-modifying enzymes and to oxidize phenanthrene under various pH and temperature conditions was confirmed.