The comet assay in higher terrestrial plant model: Review and evolutionary trends.
The comet assay is a sensitive technique for the measurement of DNA damage in individual cells. Although it has been primarily applied to animal cells, its adaptation to higher plant tissues significantly extends the utility of plants for environmental genotoxicity research. The present review focuses on 101 key publications and discusses protocols and evolutionary trends specific to higher plants. General consensus validates the use of the percentage of DNA found in the tail, the alkaline version of the test and root study. The comet protocol has proved its effectiveness and its adaptability for cultivated plant models. Its transposition in wild plants thus appears as a logical evolution. However, certain aspects of the protocol can be improved, namely through the systematic use of positive controls and increasing the number of nuclei read. These optimizations will permit the increase in the performance of this test, namely when interpreting mechanistic and physiological phenomena.
Université Lille 2, EA 4483, Laboratoire des Sciences Végétales et Fongiques - Faculté des Sciences Pharmaceutiques et Biologiques, B.P. 83, F-59006 Lille Cedex, France; Université Lille 2, Faculté Ingénierie et Management de la Santé (ILIS), EA 4483, 42, Rue Ambroise Paré, 59120 Loos, France.
Caroline
C
Lanier
INERIS, Parc Technologique ALATA, B.P. 2, 60550 Verneuil en Halatte, France.
Nicolas
N
Manier
Université Lille 2, Faculté Ingénierie et Management de la Santé (ILIS), EA 4483, 42, Rue Ambroise Paré, 59120 Loos, France.
Damien
D
Cuny
Université Lille 2, EA 4483, Laboratoire des Sciences Végétales et Fongiques - Faculté des Sciences Pharmaceutiques et Biologiques, B.P. 83, F-59006 Lille Cedex, France; Université Lille 2, Faculté Ingénierie et Management de la Santé (ILIS), EA 4483, 42, Rue Ambroise Paré, 59120 Loos, France. Electronic address: annabelle.deram@univ-lille2.fr.
Annabelle
A
Deram
D005075:Biological Evolution; D020552:Comet Assay / Q000379:methods*; D004249:DNA Damage; D018744:DNA, Plant / Q000235:genetics; D010944:Plants / Q000235:genetics*
D018744:DNA, Plant
Comet assay; Environmental biomonitoring; Higher plants; Review; SCGE