ABSTRACT. Some herbicides are suspected of promoting teratogenic, carcinogenic and mutagenic events. Detection of induced mitotic crossing-over has proven to be an indirect way of testing the carcinogenic properties of suspicious substances, because mitotic crossing-over is involved in the multistep process of carcinogenesis. We examined mitotic crossing-over induced by two commercial herbicides (diuron and trifluralin) in diploid strains of Aspergillus nidulans based on the homozygotization index. Low doses (2.5 μg/mL) of diuron were sufficient to increase the mean homozygotization index in 2.1 and 11.3 times for UT448// UT196 and Dp II-I//UT196, respectively, whereas the same dose of trifluralin increased this mean only 1.2 (UT448//UT196) and 3.5 (Dp II-I// UT196) times, respectively. The lower homozygotization index value found for trifluralin could be due to its interference with mitotic crossingover in eukaryotic cells. We concluded that the diploid Dp II-I//UT196 of A. nidulans is more sensitive to organic compounds than UT448//UT196; these compounds cause recombinational events at a greater frequency in the latter diploid. This system holds promise as an initial test for carcinogenicity of organic compounds, including herbicides.
ABSTRACT. Mercury (Hg) pollution is one of the most serious environmental problems. Due to public concern prompted by the symptoms displayed by people who consumed contaminated fish in Minamata, Japan in 1956, Hg pollution has since been kept under constant surveillance. However, despite considerable accumulation of knowledge on the noxious effects of ingested or inhaled Hg, especially for humans, there is virtually nothing known about the genotoxic effects of Hg. Because increased mitotic crossing over is assumed to be the first step leading to carcinogenesis, we used a sensitive short-term test (homozygotization index) to look for DNA alterations induced by Hg fumes. In one Aspergillus nidulans diploid strain (UT448//UT184), the effects of the Hg fumes appeared scattered all Quick assay to detect the genotoxicity of mercury fumes over the DNA, causing 3.05 times more recombination frequencies than the mean for other strains. Another diploid (Dp II-I//UT184) was little affected by Hg. This led us to hypothesize that a genetic factor present in the UT184 master strain genome, close to the nicB8 genetic marker, is responsible for this behavior. These findings corroborate our previous findings that the homozygotization index can be used as a bioassay for rapid and efficient assessment of ecotoxicological hazards.
With the recent focus on environmental problems, increasing awareness of the harmful effects of industrial and agricultural pollution has created a demand for progressively more sophisticated pollutant and toxicity detection methods. Using Aspergillus nidulans strains this work presents a new short term-test that, most importantly, enables the rapid and inexpensive detection of volatile pollutants that induce genotoxic/carcinogenic effects in animals. The main aim is to contribute to environmental health protection, and special attention is directed to monitoring the hazard posed by benzene (as a carcinogenic agent model) mainly because its ubiquitous presence often leads to severe noxious effects in humans among whom increased rates of human leukemia have been reported. To evaluate even the submutagenic effects of benzene fumes, two Aspergillus nidulans diploid strains, heterozygous for several auxotrophic mutations, were used. The DNA lesions produced stimulate mitotic recombination and homozygotization of auxotrophic recessive mutations. Conidial exposure to a saturated atmosphere of benzene fumes for 20 s was enough to increase the mitotic recombination frequencies significantly. Genetic analyses of treated diploids evidenced alterations related to mitotic recombination frequencies, gene expression, and allelic segregation rates. Altogether they reflect the potential of benzene to induce alterations in the fungal DNA, and albeit indirectly, they also respond for the genotoxic/carcinogenic harmful side effects widely connected to benzene. This is the first description of a sensitive, rapid and inexpensive test able to detect the submutagenic dose effects of volatile environmental compounds. In addition, despite concentrating on benzene the same test can be applied to many other pollutants, volatile or not. Additionally, the test can also be used to detect the antigenotoxic properties of foods and drugs.
Main aim is to províde a reliable approach to deal with the aspects related to induced genotoxicity, genomic protection and eukaryotic mitotic recombination in .4sperg///us n/du/a/7s. Genotoxicity was benzene fumes induced, and to test genomic protection, soybean (G/ycfne max) has been used on account of its putative anticarcinogenic properties. Main outcome is that transgenic soybean bears higher antigenotoxic properties than traditíonal soybean. This has been twofold confirmed through basic genetic approaches and molecular approaches, as well. In addltion, each experimental approach has been three times repeated. Additional important outcomes are: a-establishment of a reliable protocol to deal with the complexities of the epigenetic events, and b-likely use of present protocol and experimental setup to test other environmental agents of which antigenotoxic properties are either suspected, or need precise identification. Evidently, on account of present wide concern the transgenic foodstuffs, and many other biotechnological products, as well, are obvious candidates for similar approaches. Obtained results suggest dose relationships among eukaryotic DNA methylation, mitotic recombination, and other cells damaging events reputedly leading to carcinogenesis.
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