title: Air-quality biomonitoring: assessment of genotoxicity of air pollution in the Province of Kayseri (Central Anatolia) by use of the lichen Pseudevernia furfuracea (L.) Zopf and amplified fragment-length polymorphism markers.
abstract: Mixed air pollutants are considered a major cause of DNA damage in living organisms. In this study, samples of the lichen Pseudevernia furfuracea (L.) Zopf were used as bioindicators to assess the genotoxicity of air pollutants in the province of Central Anatolia, Kayseri. The study area is characterized by the presence of numerous industrial activities, such as steel works, glassworks, and ship-building, metallurgical, mechanical and chemical industries. In the study, two biomonitoring experiments were performed during the dry and wet seasons of 2005. P. furfuracea lichen samples were exposed to various pollutants at 12 monitoring sites, distributed throughout the different parts of the province, and each experiment lasted for a period of four weeks. Genotoxic effects of environmental pollutants were evaluated with amplified fragment-length polymorphism (AFLP) molecular markers. The results indicate that the mixture of pollutants might have contributed to the changes in the band patterns obtained by AFLP analysis, reflecting the presence of DNA damage. The average value of polymorphism obtained from the amplification of the primers used was 45.0% for the wet period and 64.6% for the dry period. Genomic template stability (GTS) ratios revealed that the highest values belong to the P. furfuracea samples from Rural Site I and Rural Site II (97.9%, 99.3% respectively for the dry season), the lowest values were from Shanty II and Urban Road Site I (85.8%, 85.2%, respectively for the wet season). The present results indicate that the licxhen species P. furfuracea, which is known for its bioindicator-biomonitor capacity, also has a high capacity as indicator of genotoxicity. AFLP markers are cheap, reliable and, therefore, an important tool for studying genotoxicity in lichen species.
authors.affiliation: Biotechnology Section, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Ankara, Tandogan, Ankara 06100, Turkey.
authors.forename: Ciğdem
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Vardar
authors.affiliation: Biotechnology Section, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Ankara, Tandogan, Ankara 06100, Turkey.
authors.forename: Esin
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Basaran
authors.affiliation: Ankara University, Biotechnology Institute, Tandogan, Ankara 06100, Turkey.
authors.forename: Demet
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Cansaran-Duman
authors.affiliation: Biotechnology Section, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Ankara, Tandogan, Ankara 06100, Turkey. Electronic address: aras@science.ankara.edu.tr.
authors.forename: Sümer
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Aras
mesh_terms: D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000633:toxicity*; D054458:Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism Analysis; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D008011:Lichens / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics; D019105:Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA Technique
chemical_list: D000393:Air Pollutants
keywords: AFLP; Air pollution; Genotoxicity; Lichen; Pseudevernia furfuracea