Abstract
The present study evaluated the genotoxic effects of the atmospheric air on Tradescantia pallida var. purpurea in urban areas with different intensities of vehicular traffic and in riparian forest fragments in the Sinos River Basin (Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil), considering the influence of climatic conditions prevailing in these environments. Bimonthly, from May 2012 to March 2013, cuttings with flower buds were exposed for 8 h in urban and riparian forest environments in the municipalities of Caraá, Taquara and Campo Bom in the upper, middle and lower sections, respectively, of the Sinos River Basin. Simultaneously, negative controls were made and climatic data were recorded. Micronuclei (MCN) frequencies were determined in young tetrads of pollen mother cells and expressed as MCN/100 tetrads. Significantly higher MCN frequencies were observed in buds exposed in urban and riparian forest environments in Taquara (up to 7.23 and 4.80, respectively) and Campo Bom (up to 4.90 and 4.23, respectively) than in buds exposed in Caraá (up to 2.90 and 2.50, respectively), in the majority of samplings, and in relation to the negative control (up to 1.93) in all months. Over the course of the period monitored, there were significant variations in MCN frequencies at all sampling points, with the exception of the urban environment in Caraá. For the urban environments, relation between the MCN frequency, vehicular traffic and mean temperature was observed. For the riparian forest fragments, there was no association between MCN frequency and climatic factors. Tradescantia pallida var. purpurea can be considered a useful tool to point out areas with increased atmospheric pollution, since the exposure of plants under severe climatic conditions is avoided to minimize their negative influence on the formation of micronuclei.
Highlights
IntroductionIndustrialization and intense vehicle traffic are the primary causes of degradation of air quality
High demographic densities, industrialization and intense vehicle traffic are the primary causes of degradation of air quality
The present study evaluated the genotoxic effects of the atmospheric air on Tradescantia pallida var. purpurea in urban areas with different degrees of vehicular traffic and in riparian forest fragments in the Sinos River Basin, considering the influence of climatic conditions prevailing in these environments
Summary
Industrialization and intense vehicle traffic are the primary causes of degradation of air quality. Atmospheric air pollution is primarily the result of emissions of gases and particulate material, causing negative effects on living organisms and the environment (Savóia et al, 2009; Teixeira et al, 2012). The major atmospheric toxic substances released by mobile and stationary sources are carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides, ozone, particulate material, volatile organic compounds, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (Rocha et al, 2004; Teixeira et al, 2012). The majority of risk assessment studies of atmospheric pollutants are based on concentrations detected by chemical analyses for simple substances and the synergic and genotoxic effects of complex mixtures of these compounds are still poorly known (Savóia et al, 2009; Merlo et al, 2011). Studies have begun to integrate biological indicators with physical and chemical parameters, with the goal of identifying genetic changes that may occur in organisms as a result of the environmental conditions in which they live or after exposure as active indicators in environments that are supposedly polluted (Meireles et al, 2009; Savóia et al, 2009; Carreras et al, 2013; Pereira et al, 2013)
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