Can urban air quality be improved through the use of plant associated bacteria?

通过使用植物相关细菌可以改善城市空气质量吗？

• 批准号: 2108269
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: University of Warwick
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Studentship
• 财政年份: 2019
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2019 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=studentship-2108269
• 关键词: urban; air; quality; improved; through

Project Highlights: 3 points as a bulleted list- Assess how plants and microbes contribute to the provision of ecosystem services in urban areas, focussing on air pollution mitigation- Investigate degradation of air pollutants by plant-associated microbiota - Characterise phyllosphere microbiomes using environmental genomics approachesOverview: Over 90% of the UK population is urban and thus facing a range of urban-specific environmental challenges (higher temperatures, increased flooding risks, reduced air quality). Green infrastructure can help mitigate some of these challenges, but the choice of planting can have significant impact on the extent of benefits1. Plants with certain structural and functional properties (hairy leaves, large leaf areas, high transpiration rate) tend to provide higher level of services. Of particular interest are ecosystem services related to the mitigation of air pollution. Air pollution causes millions of premature deaths and is an important issue in metropolitan areas worldwide2. Air pollutants include a number of volatile species, such as NOx, SO2, carbon monoxide and a range of volatile organic compounds. In addition, particulate matter (PM) is a major concern for air quality and public health. PM are produced from natural and anthropogenic processes, the latter including transport emissions.The role of vegetation in maintaining and improving air quality is undisputed, but the underlying mechanisms are not fully understood at present. One such mechanism involves the trapping and removal of pollutants from the atmosphere, such as PM, but also in providing a habitat for plant associated microbial communities in the phyllosphere (above ground parts of plants); these bacteria too can act to remove and metabolise some of these gaseous pollutants. Building on previous research at RHS and Warwick, we are keen to test the potential of plants and bacteria to contribute to air quality improvement. The ability of plants to trap particulate matter is enhanced by properties such as having hairy leaves3. Trapped PM may remain bound to the leaf structure or can be transferred into soil by being washed off by rain water. Research at RHS has highlighted hairy-leaved plants like Stachys and Salvia species to be beneficial for PM trapping.Bacteria inhabiting the above ground parts of plants, the so-called phyllosphere, have the potential to degrade atmospheric volatile compounds and may contribute to degradation of volatile pollutants and chemicals bound to PM. Ongoing research at Warwick has shown microbial communities associated with tree leaves to degrade para-nitrophenol (PNP; Palmer, Bending, Schäfer, unpublished), a dominant atmospheric nitrophenol4, which is a component of particulate matter from diesel engines5. We have also observed phyllosphere microbiota to be capable of carbon monoxide degradation. In this PhD project you will address fundamental aspects of plant-bacterial partnerships and their potential to mitigate air pollutants. Key questions to be addressed are how the presence of leaf hairs affects microbial colonisation of the phyllosphere and how the microbiota interacts with the plant and atmospherically derived pollutants. This will be carried out with plants previously identified as providing a high level of ecosystem services within green infrastructure (Stachys and Salvia spp.). Interestingly, these plants also have high content of phenolic compounds, which may affect colonisation of the phyllosphere, but also prime the microbiota to degrade plant and atmosphere derived phenolic compounds. Suitable comparisons will be done with 'control' plants lacking hairy leaves/phenolic content. Overall, the student will assess whether the extent of ecosystem services delivery by these plants can be enhanced through the air pollutant degradation via partnership with specific microorganisms.

项目亮点：3点项目列表-评估植物和微生物如何为城市地区提供生态系统服务做出贡献，重点是缓解空气污染-研究植物相关微生物群对空气污染物的降解-使用环境基因组学方法表征层状圈微生物组超过90%的英国人口居住在城市，因此面临着一系列城市特有的环境挑战（气温升高、洪水风险增加、空气质量下降）。绿色基础设施可以帮助缓解其中的一些挑战，但种植的选择可能对效益的程度产生重大影响。具有一定结构和功能特性（叶片多毛、叶面积大、蒸腾速率高）的植物往往提供更高水平的服务。特别令人感兴趣的是与减轻空气污染有关的生态系统服务。空气污染导致数百万人过早死亡，是全球大城市的一个重要问题。空气污染物包括许多挥发性物质，如氮氧化物、二氧化硫、一氧化碳和一系列挥发性有机化合物。此外，颗粒物（PM）是空气质量和公众健康的一个主要问题。PM由自然和人为过程产生，后者包括交通排放。植被在维持和改善空气质量中的作用是毋庸置疑的，但其潜在机制目前尚未完全了解。其中一种机制涉及捕获和清除大气中的污染物，例如PM，但也为层层（植物的地上部分）中与植物有关的微生物群落提供栖息地；这些细菌也可以去除和代谢一些气态污染物。在英国皇家科学院和华威大学之前的研究基础上，我们热衷于测试植物和细菌在改善空气质量方面的潜力。植物的一些特性，如多毛的叶子，增强了它们捕捉微粒物质的能力。被困的PM可能会留在叶片结构上，或者被雨水冲走而转移到土壤中。RHS的研究强调了像Stachys和鼠尾草这样的毛叶植物对捕获PM有益。生活在植物地上部分的细菌，即所谓的层层圈，具有降解大气挥发性化合物的潜力，并可能有助于降解挥发性污染物和与PM结合的化学物质。沃里克大学正在进行的研究表明，微生物群落与树叶有关，可以降解对硝基酚（PNP; Palmer, bent, Schäfer，未发表），这是一种主要的大气硝基酚，是柴油发动机颗粒物的组成部分。我们还观察到层球微生物群能够降解一氧化碳。在这个博士项目中，你将解决植物-细菌伙伴关系的基本方面及其减轻空气污染物的潜力。要解决的关键问题是叶毛的存在如何影响叶层圈的微生物定植以及微生物群如何与植物和大气衍生污染物相互作用。这将与以前被确定为在绿色基础设施中提供高水平生态系统服务的植物（石竹和鼠尾草）一起进行。有趣的是，这些植物也含有高含量的酚类化合物，这可能会影响层球的定植，但也会使微生物群降解植物和大气衍生的酚类化合物。将与缺乏毛状叶片/酚含量的“对照”植物进行适当的比较。总体而言，学生将评估这些植物提供的生态系统服务的程度是否可以通过与特定微生物的合作来增强空气污染物的降解。