Abstract
Auto-pollution is the by-product of our mechanized mobility, which adversely affects both plant and human life. However, plants growing in the urban locations provide a great respite to us from the brunt of auto-pollution by absorbing the pollutants at their foliar surface. Foliar surface configuration and biochemical changes in two selected plant species, namely Ficus religiosa L. and Thevetia nerifolia L., growing at IT crossing (highly polluted sites), Picup bhawan crossing (moderately polluted site) and Kukrail Forest Picnic Spot (Low polluted site) were investigated. It was observed that auto-exhaust pollution showed marked alterations in photosynthetic pigments, protein and cysteine contents and also in leaf area and foliar surface architecture of plants growing at HP site as compared to LP site. The changes in the foliar configuration reveal that these plants can be used as biomarkers of auto-pollution.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Explore related subjects
Discover the latest articles, news and stories from top researchers in related subjects.Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Agrawal, M., Singh, S. K., Singh., J. and Rao, D. N.: 1991, ‘Biomonitoring of air pollution around industrial sites’, J. Environ. Biol. 211–222.
Alfani, A., Batroli, G., Rutigliano, F. A., Maisto, G. and VirzoDeSanto, A.: 1996, ‘Trance metal biomonitoring in the soil and the leaves of Quercus Ilex in the urban area of Naples’, Biol. Trace Element Res. 51(1), 117–131.
A. P. H. A.: 1998, ‘Standard methods for the examination of water and waste water’, 20th ed., American Public Health Association, Washington.
Arnon, D. I.: 1949, ‘Copper enzyme in isolated chloroplasts. Polyphenol oxidase in Beta vulgaris’, Plant Physiol. 130, 267–272.
Bache, C. A., Gutenmann, W. H., Rutzke, M., Chu, G., Elfving, DC. and Lisk, D. J.: 1991, ‘Concentrations of metals in grasses in the vicinity of a municipal refuse incinerator’, Arc. Environ. Contam. Toxicol. 20(4), 538–542.
Backett, K. P., Free-smith, P. H. and Taylor, G.: 1998, ‘Urban woodlands: Their role in reducing the effect of particulate pollution’, Environ. Pollut. 99, 347–306.
Baker, E. A. and Hunt, G. M.: 1986, ‘Erosion of waxes from leaf surfaces by stimulated acid rain’, New Phytol. 102, 161–173.
Ball, D., Hamilton, R. and Harrison, R.: 1991, ‘The influence of highway related pollutants on environmental quality’ in: R. Hamilton and R. Harrison (eds), Highway Pollution, Elsevier Science, New York, pp. 1–47.
Bansal, S.: 1988, ‘Studies on the effect of certain atmospheric pollutants on fruit diseases of Lycopersicon esculentum Mill. Caused by Alternaria alternata’, Ph.D. Thesis. Bhopal Univ. Bhopal (India).
Byers, D. H. and Saltzman, B. E.: 1958, ‘Determination of ozone in air by natural and alkaline iodine procedure’, Am. Ind. Hyg. Assoc. J. 19, 251–257.
Calvin, M.: 1955, ‘Function of carotenoids in photosynthesis’, Nature 176, 1211.
Carreras, H. F. and Pignata, M. L.: 2001, ‘Comparison among air pollutants, meteorological condition and some chemical parameters in the transplanted lichen Usnea amblyoclada’, Environ. Pollut. 111(1), 45–52.
Constantinidou, H. A. and Kozlowski, T. T.: 1979, ‘Effects of sulfur dioxide and ozone on Ulmus Americana seedlings II: Carbohydrates, proteins and lipids’, Can. J. Bot. 57, 176–184.
Cox, R. M.: 2003, ‘The use of passive sampling to monitor forest exposure to O3, NO2 and SO2: A review and some case studies’, Environ. Pollut. 126, 301–311.
DeKok, L. J.: 1989, ‘Responses of sulfur metabolism in plants to atmospheric hydrogen sulfide’, Phytonomist 29, 189–201.
DeKok, L. J., Westernman, S., Elisabeth, C., Stuiver, E. and Stulen, I.: 2000, ‘Atmospheric H2S as plant sulfur source: Interaction with pedospheric sulfur nutrition – A case study with Brassica oleracea L.’, in: C. Brunold et al. (eds), Sulfur Nutrition and Sulfur Assimilation in Higher Plants, Paul Haunt Bern Switzerland, pp. 41–56.
Duxbury, A. C. and Yentsch, C. S.: 1956, ‘Plankton pigment monographs’, J. Marine Res. 15, 19–101.
Eveling, D. H.: 1984, ‘Examination of the cuticular surface of fresh decline leaves and petals with a scanning electron microscope’, New Phytol. 96, 229–237.
Forooq, M. and Beg, M. U.: 1980, ‘Effect of aqueous sulphur dioxide on the membrane permeability of common Indian tree leaves’, New Botanist 7, 213–217.
Gaitonde, M. K.: 1967, ‘A spectorphotometric method for the direct determination of cysteine in the presence of other naturally occurring amino acids’, Biochem. J. 104, 627–633.
Gomez, K. and Gomez, A. A.: 1984, Statistical Procedure for Agricultural Research, New York, John Willey and Sons.
Harrison, R. M. and Chirgawi, M. B. 1989, ‘The assessment of air and soil as contributors of some trace metals to vegetable plants. I. Use of a filtered air growth cabinet’, Sci. Total Environ. 83(1–2), 13–34.
Iqbal, M., Zafa, M. and Abdin, M. Z.: 2000, ‘Studies on anatomical, physiological and biochemical response of trees to coal smoke pollution around a thermal power plant’, Project report submitted by Department of Botany, Faculty of Sciences, Zamia Hamdard University, Hamdard Nagar, New Delhi to Ministry of Environment and Forest, Government of India.
Jacobs, M. B. and Hochheiser, S.: 1958, ‘Continuous sampling and ultra micro determination of nitrogen dioxide in air’, Anal. Chem. 30, 426–428.
Keller, T.: 1986, ‘The electrical conductivity of Norway spruce needle diffusate as affected by air pollutants’, Tree Physiol. 1, 85–94.
Kim, K.-H., Lee, J.-H. and Jang, M.-S.: 2000, ‘Metals in air borne particulate matters in the Taejon industrial complex area on Korea’, Environ. Pollut. 118(1), 41–51.
Kondo, N., Akiyama, Y., Fujiwara, M. and Sugahara, K.: 1980, ‘Sulfite oxidizing activities in plants. In: Studies on the effects of air pollutants in plants and mechanism of phytotoxicity’, Res. Rep. Nat. Environ. Study Jpn 11, 137–150.
KretzsChamar, J. G., Delespaul, I. and Derijck, T.: 1980, ‘Heavy metal levels in Belgium: A five-year survey’, Sci. Total Environ. 14, 85–97.
Krinsky, N. I.: 1966, ‘The role of carotenoid pigments as protective agents against photosensitized oxidation in chloroplast’, in: T. W. Goodwin (ed), Biochemistry of Chloroplasts, Vol. 1, Academic Press, New York.
Kumar, G. S. and Dubey, P. S.: 1998, ‘Differential response and detoxifying mechanism of Cassia siamea Lam. and Dalbergia sissoo Roxb. of different ages to SO2 treatment’, J. Environ. Biol. 9(3), 243–249.
Lendzian, K. J.: 1984, ‘Permeability of plant cuticles to gaseous air pollutants’, in: Gaseous Air Pollutants and Plant Metabolism, Butter Worths, London.
Lima, J. S., Fernandes, E. B. and Fawcett, W. N.: 2000, ‘Mangifera Indica and Phaseolus vulgaris in the bioindication of air pollution in Bahia, Brazil’, Ecotoxicol. Environ. Safety 46, 275–278.
Lowry, O. H., Rosenbrough, N. J., Far, A. L. and Randall, R. J.: 1951, ‘Protein measurement with folin phenol reagent’, J. Biol. Chem. 193, 265–275.
Monaci, F., Moni, F., Lanciott, E., Grechi, D. and Bargagl, R.: 2000, ‘Biomonitoring of air borne metals in urban environments: New tracers of vehicle emission, in place of lead’, Environ. Pollut. 107, 321–327.
Nivane, S. Y., Chaudhari, P. R., Gajghate, D. G. and Tarar, J. L.: 2001, ‘Foliar biochemical features of plants as indicators of air pollution’, Bull. Environ. Contam. Toxicol. 67, 133–140.
Noland, T. L. and Kozlowski, T. T.: 1979, ‘Effect of SO2 on stomatal aperture and sulfur uptake of wood angiosperm seedlings’, Can. J. Forest Res. 9, 57–62.
Pilegaard, K. and Johnsen, I.: 1984, ‘Heavy metal uptake from air and soil by transplanted plants of Achillea millefolium and Hordeum vulgare’, in L., Rasmussen (ed), Ecological Bulletins (NFR) 36. (Ecotoxicology: 3rd Oikos conference) pp. 97–102.
Que Hee, S. S.: 1984, ‘Availability of elements in leaded/unleaded automobile exhaust, a leaded paint, a soil and some mixtures’, Arc. Environ. Contam. Toxicol. 27, 145–153.
Rao, D. N. and LeBlanc, F.: 1966, ‘Effects of SO2 on the lichen alga with special reference to chlorophyll’, Bryologist 69, 69–75.
Salgare, S. A. and Thorat, V. B.: 1995, ‘Effect of autoexhaust pollution on Andheri (West) on the growth performance of some trees (monsoonal collection)’, J. Recent Adv. Appl. Sci. 10(1–2), 71–77.
Sawidis, T., Marnasidis, A., Zachariadis, G. and Stratis, J.: 1995, ‘A study of air-pollution with heavy-metals in Thessaloniki City (Greece) using trees as biological indicators’, Arc. Environ. Contam. Toxicol. 28(1), 118–124.
Senser, M., Kloos, M. and Lutz, C.: 1990, ‘Influence of soil substrate and ozone plus acid mist on the pigment content and composition of needles from young spruce trees’, Environ. Pollut. 64, 295.
Sharma, G. K., Chandler, C. and Salemi, L.: 1980, ‘Environmental pollution and leaf Cuticular variation in Kudzu (Pueraria lobata Wild)’, Ann. Bot. 45, 77–80.
Shparyk, Y. S. and Parpan, V. I.: 1990, ‘Heavy metal pollution and forest health in Ukrainian Carpathians, Environ. Pollut. 130, 55–63.
Singh, N., Singh, S. N., Srivastava, K., Yunus, M., Ahmad, K. J., Sharma, S. C. and Sharga, A. N.: 1990, ‘Relative sensitivity and tolerance of some Gladiolus cultivars to sulphur dioxide’, Ann. Bot. 65, 41–44.
Singh, S. N., Yunus, M., Kulshreshtha, K., Srivastava, K. and Ahmad, K. J.: 1988, ‘Effect of SO2 on growth and development of Dahlia rosea Cav.’, Bull. Environ. Contam. Toxicol. 40, 743–751.
Smith, P. A. and Raven, J. A.: 1979, ‘Intercellular pH and its regulation’, Annu. Rev. Plant Physiol. 30, 289–311.
Tausz, M., Van der Kooij, T. A. W., Muller, M., DeKok, L. J. and Grill, D.: 1998, ‘Uptake and metabolism of oxidized and reduced sulfur pollutants by spruce trees’, in: L. J. DeKok and I. Stulen (eds.), Responses of Plant Metabolism to Air Pollution and Global Change, Backhuys Publishers, Leiden, pp. 457–460.
West, P. W. and Gaeke, G. C.: 1956, ‘Fixation of sulfur dioxide as sulfitomercurate (II) and subsequent colorimetric estimation’, Anal. Chem. 28, 1816–1819.
Williams, A. J. and Banerjee, S. K.: 1995, ‘Effect of thermal power plant emission on the metabolic activities of Mangifera indica and Shorea robusta’, Environ. Ecol. 13, 914–919.
Young, A. J., Britton, G. and Senser, M.: 1988, ‘Carotenoid composition of needles of Picea abies L. showing signs of photodamage’, Zeitschrift für Naturforschung 45, 1111.
Yu, S. W.: 1988, ‘Plant resistance to sulfur dioxide injury’ in Perspectives in Environmental Botany, vol. 2. Today and Tomorrow's Printers and Publishers, New Delhi, pp. 251–282.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Verma, A., Singh, S.N. Biochemical and Ultrastructural Changes in Plant Foliage Exposed to Auto-Pollution. Environ Monit Assess 120, 585–602 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-005-9105-5
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-005-9105-5