Role of leaf- and rhizosphere-associated bacteria in reducing air pollution of industrial cities in Saudi Arabia

摘要

With the establishment of industrial cities such as Jubail and Yanbu, Saudi Arabia has been increasing its efforts to protect the country from various environmental hazards, several air quality monitors and meteorology network stations are operated throughout the kingdom to monitor parameters such as sulfur dioxide, ozone, nitrogen oxide, and hydrogen sulfide. As a result, air pollution in the Saudi cities is the lowest in the Middle East.Microorganisms play a major role in removing pollutants from water, soil and air. Leaf- and rhizosphere-associated bacteria have an impact in reducing air pollution. Plant species growing in the industrial cites were studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to observe the bacteria. Seventeen bacterial colonizations of leaves and rhizosphere were identified by API, biochemical tests, and PCR. The ability of the isolates to biodegrade different air and soil pollutants such as phenol, sulfate and nitrogen compounds was examined. Furthermore, the ability of leaf isolates to produce Extracellular polysaccharide (EPS) was examined.