Author(s)

M. A. Khiyami

Abstract

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. Keywords: industrial cities, emission, pollutants, bacteria, rhizosphere, biodegradation, extracellular polysaccharide. 1 Introduction Saudi Arabia is strategically located in the southwest corner of Asia, at the crossroads of Europe, Asia and Africa. Jubail and Yanbu are two major industrial cities in Saudi Arabia on the eastern and western coasts. The Royal

Keywords

industrial cities, emission, pollutants, bacteria, rhizosphere, biodegradation, extracellular polysaccharide.