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Phylloremediation of Air Pollutants: Exploiting the Potential of Plant Leaves and Leaf-Associated Microbes.

ABSTRACT: Air pollution is air contaminated by anthropogenic or naturally occurring substances in high concentrations for a prolonged time, resulting in adverse effects on human comfort and health as well as on ecosystems. Major air pollutants include particulate matters (PMs), ground-level ozone (O3), sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen dioxides (NO2), and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). During the last three decades, air has become increasingly polluted in countries like China and India due to rapid economic growth accompanied by increased energy consumption. Various policies, regulations, and technologies have been brought together for remediation of air pollution, but the air still remains polluted. In this review, we direct attention to bioremediation of air pollutants by exploiting the potentials of plant leaves and leaf-associated microbes. The aerial surfaces of plants, particularly leaves, are estimated to sum up to 4 × 108 km2 on the earth and are also home for up to 1026 bacterial cells. Plant leaves are able to adsorb or absorb air pollutants, and habituated microbes on leaf surface and in leaves (endophytes) are reported to be able to biodegrade or transform pollutants into less or nontoxic molecules, but their potentials for air remediation has been largely unexplored. With advances in omics technologies, molecular mechanisms underlying plant leaves and leaf associated microbes in reduction of air pollutants will be deeply examined, which will provide theoretical bases for developing leaf-based remediation technologies or phylloremediation for mitigating pollutants in the air.

SUBMITTER: Wei X

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5532450 | biostudies-other | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other

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Project description:Plant surfaces are known as an important sink for various air pollutants, including particulate matter and its associated potentially toxic elements (PTE). Moreover, leaves surface or phylloplane is a habitat that harbors diverse bacterial communities (epiphytic). However, little is known about their possible functions during phytoremediation of air pollutants like PTE. The study of leaf epiphytic bacteria of plants colonizing mine residues (MR) containing PTE is thus a key to understand and exploit plant-epiphytic bacteria interactions for air phytoremediation purposes. In this research, we aimed (i) to characterize the functions of epiphytic bacteria isolated from the phylloplane of Brickellia veronicifolia, Flaveria trinervia, Gnaphalium sp., and Allionia choisyi growing spontaneously on multi-PTE contaminated MR and (ii) to compare these against the same plant species in a non-polluted control site (NC). Concentrations (mg kg-1) of PTE on MR leaf surfaces of A. choisyi reached up to 232 for Pb, 13 for Cd, 2,728 for As, 52 for Sb, 123 for Cu in F. trinervia, and 269 for Zn in Gnaphalium sp. In the four plant species, the amount of colony-forming units per cm2 was superior in MR leaves than in NC ones, being A. choisyi the plant species with the highest value. Moreover, the proportion of isolates tolerant to PTE (Zn, Cu, Cd, and Sb), UV light, and drought was higher in MR leaves than in those in NC. Strain BA15, isolated from MR B. veronicifolia, tolerated 150 mg Zn L-1, 30 mg Sb L-1, 25 mg Cu L-1; 80 mg Pb L-1, and was able to grow after 12 h of continuous exposition to UV light and 8 weeks of drought. Plant growth promotion related traits [N fixation, indole acetic acid (IAA) production, and phosphate solubilization] of bacterial isolates varied among plant species isolates and between MR and NC sampling condition. The studied epiphytic isolates possess functions interesting for phytoremediation of air pollutants. The results of this research may contribute to the development of novel and more efficient inoculants for microbe-assisted phytoremediation applied to improve air quality in areas exposed to the dispersion of metal mine tailings.

Project description:BackgroundHuman evidence on the association between air pollution and ovarian response is scarce. Poor ovarian response (POR) with an incidence of 5-35% is a tricky problem in IVF treatment.MethodsIn this large-scale multicentre study, we included 2186 women with POR (< 4 oocytes retrieved) and 7033 women with a normal ovarian response (10-15 oocytes retrieved), who underwent their first in vitro fertilization treatment in five cities in northern China during 2015-2020. Average concentrations of six air pollutants (PM2.5, PM10, O3, NO2, CO, and SO2) during different exposure windows (5 days, 1, 3, 6, and 12 months) before oocyte pick up (OPU) were calculated using data from the air monitoring station nearest to the residential site as approximate individual exposure. Logistic regression models were employed to assess the association between exposure to air pollutants and the risk of POR. Stratification analyses were conducted based on female age. Sensitivity analyses were performed in poor responders identified by Bologna criteria and women with unexpected POR.FindingsWe detected that increased SO2 exposure during all exposure windows before OPU was associated with a higher risk of POR, especially for women ≤ 30 years old. In the stratified analysis, the effect sizes were larger for the unexpected poor ovarian response.InterpretationThe findings provide human evidence for adverse effects of exposure to ambient air pollutants on ovarian response and underscore the need to reduce ambient air pollution exposure in women of reproductive age to protect human fertility.FundingThis study was granted from the National Key Research and Development Program (2018YFC1004203), the Major Special Construction Plan for Discipline Construction Project of China Medical University (3110118033), the Shengjing Freelance Researcher Plan of Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (82071601), the Central Government Special Fund for Local Science and Technology Development (2020JH6/10500006).

Project description:To better understand the influence of land use and meteorological parameters on air pollutants, we deployed passive air samplers in 15 regions with different land use in eastern Austria. The samplers consisted of polyurethane PUF and polyester PEF filter matrices, which were analyzed for 566 substances by gas-chromatography/mass-spectrometry. In a previous article, we highlighted a widespread contamination of ambient air with pesticides that depends on the surrounding land use and meteorological parameters. Here we report that, in addition to agricultural pesticides, eight other substances were frequently detected in ambient air: Nitrapyrin, a nitrification inhibitor used to increase nitrogen use efficiency of fertilizers and banned in Austria since 1993; biocides against insects (DEET and transfluthrin) used mainly outside agriculture; piperonyl butoxide (PBO), a synergist mixed into pesticide formulations; and four industrially used polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), long banned worldwide. Concentrations of the detected substances were positively related to air temperature, but only slightly related to agricultural land use in the sampler's vicinity. The city center showed the highest concentrations of biocides, PCBs and PBO, but also medium concentrations of nitrapyrin. Four sites had no air contamination with these substances; including two national parks dominated by grassland or forest, but also two sites with mixed land use. The potential human toxicity of the detected substances based on globally harmonized hazard classifications was high: seven substances had specific organ toxicity, six were cancerogenic, and two were acutely toxic; however, several substances had incomplete information of hazard profiles. Moreover, all substances were acutely and chronically toxic to aquatic life. We recommend that substances of different origins be included in the air pollution monitoring portfolio to comprehensively assess the potential hazards to humans and the environment.

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Phylloremediation of Air Pollutants: Exploiting the Potential of Plant Leaves and Leaf-Associated Microbes.

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