Air pollution is a severe problem in the modern world. Urbanization, industrialization, and traffic emit air pollutants such as carbon monoxide (CO), nitrous oxides (NOx), hydrocarbons (HCs), and particulate matter into the environment. Plants can absorb air pollutants through stomata. They adversely affect the various metabolic and physiological processes of plant species. This review describes the impact of air pollution on plant health, morphologically, physiologically, and genetically, and the tolerance ability of plants located along roadside areas. Many morphological effects, like chlorosis, necrosis, leaf area, stomatal clogging, plant productivity, leaf falling, and reduction in flower yield, are observed due to the influence of air pollution. Air pollutants also damage the DNA and affect the biochemicals of the plants, as well as pH, relative water content (RWC), simple sugar, ascorbic acid (AA), total chlorophyll content (TCH), proline, and polyamines. Some plants located under pollution stress can mitigate air pollution. Plants with higher APTI values are more tolerant of air pollution, while those with the lowest APTI values can be used as an indicator of the rate of air pollution. There is much morphological, biochemical, and DNA damage noted in this review. Different strategies can be used to diagnose the effects of air pollution in the future and develop green belts to mitigate air pollution in pollution-stressed areas.

Food colors are considered the most important component of foodstuff for enhancing the aesthetic appeal of the products. The rapid increase in population raised the demand for food materials, while wastewater from as-related processing industries is used for irrigation. This study was conducted to examine the genotoxicity of industrial wastewater on the plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR). Three predominantly used synthetic food colors, including Azorubine E-122, Tartrazine E-102 and Allura Red AC E-129, were used during this project. Rhizobacteria were isolated from agricultural soils and treated with various concentrations of Azorubine E-122, Tartrazine E-102 and Allura red E-129 for a 24 and 48 h duration. DNA extraction and quantification were performed through a modified CTAB method, spectrophotometry and agarose gel electrophoresis. A comet assay was used to check DNA damage. According to the results, all the food colors had caused significant damage to DNA depending upon the concentration and exposure time. The extent of DNA damage caused by Azorubine E-122 was relatively greater compared with the other colors, so the fragmentation rate of 86% and 92% was obtained at 1.25% concentration for 24 and 48 h, respectively. The current results have revealed the devastation capacity of food colors by accelerating distortion risk to soil micro-flora, hence the fertility of the soil.

Certain synthetic food additives have been found to induce DNA damage in plant cells, primarily in the form of mutations and chromosomal abnormalities. This research aimed to assess the genotoxic potential of two commonly used food colors (Allura red and tartrazine) and two preservatives (boric acid and sodium benzoate) on the root cells of garlic (Allium sativum L.). Garlic roots were treated with various concentrations of food colors (0.1, 01, and 10 g/L) and food preservatives (1, 2, and 4 g/L) for 24 h. Root tip cells were observed under the microscope to check chromosomal abnormalities. The mitotic index observed a maximum of 11.32% at a 10 g/L concentration of Allura red and 19.88% for tartrazine at a 10 g/L concentration. The mitotic index for boric acid and sodium benzoate was maximum (9.80 and 10.95%, respectively) at a concentration of 4 g/L each. An abnormality index was recorded for Allura red (3.01%) and (2.98%) for tartrazine at a 10 g/L concentration. The abnormality index for boric acid was highest (5.88%) at a concentration of 4 g/L. The abnormality index for sodium benzoate was maximum at 5.17% at 4 g/L. Overall, genotoxicity increased with the increasing concentration of food additives.

Chili pepper (Capsicum frutescens L.) and tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) are the herbaceous plants that are cultivated all over the world. In recent years, the production of chili peppers and tomatoes has been hampered by several diseases. This study was carried out for molecular characterization of pathogens infecting Capsicum frutescens L. and Solanum lycopersicum L. The Leaves with disease-associated symptoms like leaf spots, curling, wilting, and yellowing of tips and veins, were collected from vicinity of the Lahore city. For molecular characterization, DNA was isolated from infected leaves through CTAB method. Internal Transcribed Spacer primers (ITS1-F, ITS4-R) were used for identification of fungal pathogens and Primers targeting the viral cp-core region were applied to find viral pathogens. Rolling Circle Amplification (RCA) was completed using random primers to amplify circular viral genomes. The amplicon of Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) of 600bp was observed on 1% agarose gel electrophoresis representing geminivirus. Furthermore, geminivirus-associated betasatellites of 1.4 kb and 2.8 kb genome confirmed the attack of its genus begomovirus in chili and tomato plants. Use of chemicals, screening (symptomatic or asymptomatic), cultural methods, and biocontrol are significant practices to eliminate whiteflies (Bemisia tabaci- host of begomovirus transmission) from the field, ultimately it will reduce the infection rate, and increase the production of pathogens-free chili peppers and tomatoes.

Apple (Malus pumila L) of the family Rosaceae, most cultivated fruit in temperate regions of the world and is used fresh or processed. The apple production is affected by several pathogens including fungi. The present study was designed to identify disease-causing agents that reduce fruit production in the district Qilla Abdullah of Balochistan, Pakistan, which is the main apple production area of the province. Three varieties of apple: ‘Tur-Kulu’ (‘Red Delicious’), ‘Shin-Kulu’ (‘Golden Delicious’), and ‘Kaja’ were selected. Infected leaf samples were collected from eight different sites of tehsil Gulistan, district Qilla Abdullah. The cultures of fungal micro-flora were grown on two media, potato dextrose agar (PDA), and malt extract agar (MEA) followed by incubation for one week. The resulting colonies were observed under a microscope and identified based on morphological characters. Predominant fungal species was identified through ITS marker and PCR amplification. The isolated pathogens belonged to Zygomycota and Ascomycota divisions. The pathogens found were Aspergillus niger, A. oryzae, A. terrus, Colletotrichum gloeosporioides, Fusarium oxysporum, Mucor spp., Penicillium expansum, and one species of Absidia as well as Rhizopus. Colletotrichum gloeosporioides were predominantly found in all varieties. Morphological and phylogenetic analysis confirmed the identity of Colletotrichum gloeosporioides. As a result of this study, the predominant pathogen species Colletotrichum gloeosporioides is one of the causes of leaf infection in apple varieties.