title: Evaluation of DNA damage and mutagenicity induced by lead in tobacco plants.
abstract: Tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L. var. xanthi) seedlings were treated with aqueous solutions of lead nitrate (Pb2+) at concentrations ranging from 0.4 mM to 2.4 mM for 24 h and from 25 microM to 200 microM for 7 days. The DNA damage measured by the comet assay was high in the root nuclei, but in the leaf nuclei a slight but significant increase in DNA damage could be demonstrated only after a 7-day treatment with 200 microM Pb2+. In tobacco plants growing for 6 weeks in soil polluted with Pb2+ severe toxic effects, expressed by the decrease in leaf area, and a slight but significant increase in DNA damage were observed. The tobacco plants with increased levels of DNA damage were severely injured and showed stunted growth, distorted leaves and brown root tips. The frequency of somatic mutations in tobacco plants growing in the Pb2+-polluted soil did not significantly increase. Analytical studies by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry demonstrate that after a 24-h treatment of tobacco with 2.4 mM Pb2+, the accumulation of the heavy metal is 40-fold higher in the roots than in the above-ground biomass. Low Pb2+ accumulation in the above-ground parts may explain the lower levels or the absence of Pb2+-induced DNA damage in leaves.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Experimental Botany, Academy of Sciences of Czech Republic, Na Karlovce 1a, Prague 6, Czech Republic. gichner@ueb.cas.cz
authors.forename: Tomás
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Gichner
authors.forename: Irena
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Znidar
authors.forename: Jirina
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Száková
mesh_terms: D020552:Comet Assay; D004249:DNA Damage; D018744:DNA, Plant / Q000187:drug effects; D007854:Lead / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000633:toxicity*; D009566:Nitrates / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000633:toxicity*; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000187:drug effects; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000187:drug effects; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000633:toxicity; D013997:Time Factors; D014026:Nicotiana / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D018744:DNA, Plant; D009566:Nitrates; D012989:Soil Pollutants; D007854:Lead; C017461:lead nitrate