title: Mutagenicity and genotoxicity of tannery effluents used for irrigation at Kanpur, India.
abstract: The tannery effluents at Kanpur (India) have been in use for irrigation since last many years, polluting soil directly while ground water and food crops indirectly. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometric analysis of the test samples revealed the presence of organic compounds including diisooctyl phthalate, phenyl N-methylcarbamate, dibutyl phthalate, bis 2-methoxyethyl phthalate, and higher alkanes. Tannery effluent extracts were prepared using XAD-4/8 resins, dichloromethane, chloroform, and hexane and tested with Ames Salmonella test and DNA repair-defective Escherichia coli K-12 mutants. In the presence of XAD-concentrated tannery effluent, TA98 found to be the most sensitive strain in terms of mutagenic index followed by TA97a whereas in terms of mutagenic potential TA102 was most responsive. The extracts were also found genotoxic as determined in terms of survival of E. coli K-12 mutants, suggesting the presence of DNA damaging compounds in the tannery effluents. In the light of results, precautious use of tannery effluents for irrigation is suggested.
authors.affiliation: Department of Agricultural Microbiology, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh 202002, India. mohdzubairalam@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Mohammad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zubair Alam
authors.forename: Shamim
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ahmad
authors.forename: Abdul
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Malik
authors.forename: Masood
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ahmad
mesh_terms: D057914:Agricultural Irrigation / Q000379:methods*; D000473:Alkanes / Q000032:analysis / Q000633:toxicity; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D002219:Carbamates / Q000032:analysis / Q000633:toxicity; D048168:Escherichia coli K12 / Q000187:drug effects; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; D007194:India; D009152:Mutagenicity Tests; D010795:Phthalic Acids / Q000032:analysis / Q000633:toxicity; D011137:Polystyrenes; D011145:Polyvinyls; D012475:Salmonella / Q000187:drug effects; D013045:Species Specificity; D013633:Tanning; D014865:Waste Disposal, Fluid / Q000379:methods*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis / Q000633:toxicity*
chemical_list: D000473:Alkanes; D002219:Carbamates; D010795:Phthalic Acids; D011137:Polystyrenes; D011145:Polyvinyls; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; C012101:XAD-4 resin; C020401:N-methylcarbamate