15
views
0
recommends
+1 Recommend
1 collections
    0
    shares
      • Record: found
      • Abstract: found
      • Article: found
      Is Open Access

      Influence of roadside pollution on the phylloplane microbial community of Alnus nepalensis (Betulaceae)

      research-article

      Read this article at

      Bookmark
          There is no author summary for this article yet. Authors can add summaries to their articles on ScienceOpen to make them more accessible to a non-specialist audience.

          Abstract

          The North Eastern region of India is undergoing industrial development at a faster rate than expected. Roads form the main system of transportation and communication owing to the hilly topography of the region. Automobiles discharge a number of gaseous and trace metal contaminants. Human activities like stone grinding, road construction and sand milling also increase the atmospheric dust and heavy metal contaminant level. These contaminants get settled on leaf surfaces at roadsides and enter in contact with phylloplane microorganisms. This study compares microorganisms on leaf surfaces of alder (Alnus nepalensis (Betulaceae)) on roadside and non-roadside environments. Two sites dominated by alder were selected. One at a busy road intersection on the National Highway no. 44 in Shillong with high traffic density (8 000-9 000 heavy vehicles/day), taken as the polluted site and the other one in a forest approximately 500 m away from the roadside considered as the unpolluted site. Analysis of phylloplane microorganisms, lead, zinc, copper, cadmium and sulphur was carried out from leaves. The bacterial population was higher at the unpolluted site. Bacterial population showed a significant negative correlation with lead, zinc, copper, cadmium and sulphur. Similarly, fungal population was higher at the unpolluted site. A total of 29 fungal species were isolated from the phylloplane of A. nepalensis (polluted site 16 species; unpolluted site 28 species). Some fungal forms like Mortierella sp., Fusarium oxysporum and Aureobasidium pollulans were dominant in the polluted site. Numbers of phylloplane fungi and bacteria were significantly reduced in the polluted site. The correlation coefficient indicated a detrimental effect of metals like lead, zinc, copper, cadmium and sulphur on the microbial community of leaf surfaces. The specificity of certain fungi to the unpolluted site may be attributed to their sensitivity to pollution. The predominance of Aureobasidium pollulans, Fusarium oxysporum and Mortierella sp. in the polluted site may be due to their resistance to pollutants in roadside conditions. Rev. Biol. Trop. 56 (3): 1521-1529. Epub 2008 September 30.

          Translated abstract

          La región nororiental de la India está experimentando un rápido desarrollo industrial y debido a la topografía montañosa de la región, los automóviles descargan variedad de contaminantes. Actividades humanas como moler piedra y construir caminos también aumentan el polvo atmosférico y la contaminación con metales pesados. Este estudio compara microorganismos en superficies foliares del árbol Alnus nepalensis (Betulaceae). Se estudió uno sitio en una intersección de Shillong, con alta densidad de tráfico (8 000-9 000 vehículos pesados/día), tomada como el sitio contaminado, y otro en un bosque aproximadamente a 500 m de la carretera (sitio no contaminado). Se contabilizaron bacterias, hongos, plomo, zinc, cobre, cadmio y sulfuro. La población bacteriana era más alta en el sitio no contaminado. La población bacteriana mostró una correlación negativa significativa con el contenido de plomo, cinc, cobre, cadmio y sulfuro foliares en el sitio contaminado, mientras que en el sitio no contaminado la correlación fue insignificante. La población de hongos también fue más alta en el sitio no contaminado. Un total de 29 especies de hongos fueron aislados A. nepalensis: 16 en el sitio contaminado y 28 en el no contaminado. Algunas especies de hongos como Mortierella sp., Fusarium oxysporum y Aureobasidium pollulans fueron dominantes en el sitio contaminado. El número de hongos y bacterias fue significativamente menor en el sitio contaminado. El coeficiente de correlación indicó un efecto perjudicial de metales como el plomo, el zinc, el cobre, el cadmio y el sulfuro en esta comunidad que habitan superficies de hojas. La especificidad de ciertos hongos al sitio no contaminado se puede atribuir a su sensibilidad a la contaminación. El predominio de Aureobasidium pollulans, Fusarium oxysporum y Mortierella sp. en el sitio contaminado puede ser debido a su resistencia a los agentes contaminadores.

          Related collections

          Most cited references27

          • Record: found
          • Abstract: not found
          • Article: not found

          Improved methods for working with fish chromosomes with a review of metaphase chromosome banding

            Bookmark
            • Record: found
            • Abstract: not found
            • Article: not found

            Effects of limestone dust on leaf condition, foliar disease incidence, and leaf surface microflora of native plants

              Bookmark
              • Record: found
              • Abstract: not found
              • Article: not found

              A method of establishing groups of equal amplitude in plant sociology based on similarity of species content

                Bookmark

                Author and article information

                Contributors
                Role: ND
                Journal
                rbt
                Revista de Biología Tropical
                Rev. biol. trop
                Universidad de Costa Rica (San José )
                0034-7744
                September 2008
                : 56
                : 3
                : 1521-1529
                Article
                S0034-77442008000300041
                10.15517/rbt.v56i3.5726
                19419061
                b6b0236f-d3da-4cc7-9388-95f68c79801b

                http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

                History
                Product

                SciELO Costa Rica

                Self URI (journal page): http://www.scielo.sa.cr/scielo.php?script=sci_serial&pid=0034-7744&lng=en
                Categories
                Biodiversity Conservation
                Biology

                General life sciences,Animal science & Zoology
                Alnus nepalensis,roadside,pollution,heavy metals,phylloplane,microbial community,carretera,contaminación,metales pesados,filosfera,comunidad de microorganismos

                Comments

                Comment on this article