By: Jody Filkowski, Jill Besplug, Paula Burke, Igor
Kovalchuk, Olga Kovalchuk
The phenoxy herbicides 2,4-D and dicamba are released daily into the environment in large amount. The mechanisms of genotoxicity and mutagenicity of these herbicides are poorly understood, and the available genotoxicity data is controversial. There is a cogent need for a novel genotoxicity monitoring system that could provide both reliable information at the molecular level, and complement existing systems.
We employed the transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana ‘point mutation’ and ‘recombination’ plants to monitor the genetic effects of the herbicides 2,4-D and
dicamba. We found that both herbicides had a significant
effect on the frequency of homologous recombination A→G mutation. Neither
herbicides affected the T→G mutation frequency. Interestingly, these transgenic
biomonitoring plants were able to detect the presence of phenoxy herbicides at
concentrations that were lower than the guideline levels for Drinking Water
Quality. The results of our studies suggest that our transgenic system may be
ideal for the evaluation of the genotoxicity of herbicide-contaminated water.
Moreover, the unique ability of the plants to detect both double-strand breaks
(homologous recombination) and point mutations provides tremendous potential in
the study of molecular mechanisms of genotoxicity and mutagenicity of phenoxy
herbicides.
The phenoxy herbicides 2,4-D and dicamba are released daily into the environment in large amount. The mechanisms of genotoxicity and mutagenicity of these herbicides are poorly understood, and the available genotoxicity data is controversial. There is a cogent need for a novel genotoxicity monitoring system that could provide both reliable information at the molecular level, and complement existing systems.
We employed the transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana ‘point mutation’ and ‘recombination’ plants to monitor the genetic effects of the herbicides 2,4-D and
dicamba. We found that both herbicides had a significant
effect on the frequency of homologous recombination A→G mutation. Neither
herbicides affected the T→G mutation frequency. Interestingly, these transgenic
biomonitoring plants were able to detect the presence of phenoxy herbicides at
concentrations that were lower than the guideline levels for Drinking Water
Quality. The results of our studies suggest that our transgenic system may be
ideal for the evaluation of the genotoxicity of herbicide-contaminated water.
Moreover, the unique ability of the plants to detect both double-strand breaks
(homologous recombination) and point mutations provides tremendous potential in
the study of molecular mechanisms of genotoxicity and mutagenicity of phenoxy
herbicides.
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