<strong>Micronuclei in tetrads of <em>Tradescantia pallida</em> (Rose) Hunt. cv. <em>purpurea</em> Boom: genetic changes caused by urban air pollution</strong> - DOI: 10.4025/actascibiolsci.v30i3.5017

Abstract

The urban atmosphere contains a mixture of air pollutants, including mutagenic and carcinogenic substances. Associations between urban pollutants and respiratory/cardiovascular diseases and a greater incidence of certain cancer types have already been established in literature. Thus, biomonitoring procedures are required to evaluate the genotoxic potential of urban atmospheres. The Tradescantia micronucleus (Trad-MCN) test is one of the most commonly used bioassays for the detection of genotoxic effects. It is based on the formation of micronuclei resulting from chromosome breakage in the meiotic pollen mother cells of Tradescantia ssp. inflorescences. This study dealt with Trad-MCN for assessing the genotoxic potential of air in two areas of the municipality of Senhor do Bonfim/BA: (1) Lomanto Júnior Highway (RLJ), an area of intense vehicular traffic; and (2) Nova do Congresso Plaza (PNC), an area with lower flow of vehicles. The negative control (CTR) was installed in Campus VII of the State University of Bahia. Plants exposed in RLJ and PNC presented the highest frequency of micronuclei (MCN), in comparison with CTR plants (p < 0.05). The increase in the frequency of observed MCN points to the efficiency of the Trad-MCN and indicates the potential mutagenic risk of substances present in atmospheric air.