Responses of endophytic and rhizospheric bacterial communities of salt marsh plant (Spartina alterniflora) to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons contamination

Purpose Plants and their root-associated microbes play important roles in the remediation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) present in the sediments of contaminated coastal wetlands. The detailed information about the effects of PAHs on root-associated bacterial communities could help to isolate PAH-degrading bacteria and optimize the process of hytoremediation