Polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) which cause many health issues, are  released from vehicular emissions and oil refineries. They deposit on many plant surfaces including tea phyllosphere.  Tea phyllosphere harbours a variety of endophytes that are highly effective at degrading polyaromatic hydrocarbons, anthracene, and pyrene. Hence the major objective of the present study is to analyse the pyrene and anthracene degrading capability of phyllosphere endophytic fungi that inhabit Camellia sinensis (L.) Kuntze leaves. Light microscopy and SEM observations highlighted a heterogeneous endophytic fungal distribution among leaf tissue layers. As per the HPLC results, Phyllosticta capitalensis, Colletotrichum gloeosporioides, Colletotrichum siamense, Pseudopestalotiopsis chinensis, and Daldinia eschscholtzii have higher pyrene and anthracene degradation capacities respectively and their PAH degradation kinetics follow the first-order kinetic model.

Lanka Undugoda , Kasun Thambugala , Sagarika Kannangara , Jayantha Munasinghe , Nadeeka Premarathna  and Nadeema Dharmasiri

New Zealand Journal of Botany 

Abstract:- https://doi.org/10.1080/0028825X.2023.2258829