Using a plant based bio-filtration system with a root bed of activated carbon and porous shale pebbles, researchers at Syracuse University, USA (2001), investigated the behaviour of microbes in a formaldehyde rich environment. Using Golden Pothos (Bostoniensis and Phoenix roebelenii) the microbes from the plant roots and pebbles were collected and universal primers used to amplify 16S rRNA genes and identify bacteria strain.