Abstract
The inhalable particles from vehicle exhaust can cause DNA damage to exposed organisms. Research on DNA damage is primarily focused on the influence of specific pollutants on certain species or the effect of environmental pollution on human beings. To date, little research has quantitatively studied the relationship between roadside pollution and DNA damage. Based on an investigation of the roadside pollution in Beijing, Euonymus japonicus leaves of differing ages grown in heavily-polluted sections were chosen as biomonitors to detect DNA damage using the comet assay technique. The percentage of DNA in the tail and tail moment was chosen as the analysis index based on SPSS data analysis. The roadside samples showed significantly higher levels of DNA damage than non-roadside samples, which increased in older leaves, and the DNA damage to Euonymus japonicus leaf cells was positively correlated with haze-aggravated roadside pollution. The correlation between damage and the Air Quality Index (AQI) are 0.921 (one-year-old leaves), 0.894 (two-year-old leaves), and 0.878 (three-year-old leaves). Over time, the connection between DNA damage and AQI weakened, with the sensitivity coefficient for δyear 1 being larger than δyear 2 and δyear 3. These findings support the suitability and sensitivity of the comet assay for surveying plants for an estimation of DNA damage induced by environmental genotoxic agents. This study might be applied as a preliminary quantitative method for Chinese urban air pollution damage assessment caused by environmental stress.
Highlights
The concentration of inhalable particles, such as nitrogen oxides, hydrocarbons, and carbon monoxide from vehicle exhaust, can be higher along roadways, which can cause DNA damage to exposed organisms [1]
Hattab [11], using comet assay, detected the DNA damage in Pisun sativum root and leaf cells induced by genotoxic agents, and found that root cells are more sensitive to the cadmium compared with the copper, and the DNA damage in leaf cells was only significant when plants were treated with the higher cadmium concentrations
No damage was observed in cells from Beishan, and the damage was much higher in samples taken along the road in the same growth year
Summary
The concentration of inhalable particles, such as nitrogen oxides, hydrocarbons, and carbon monoxide from vehicle exhaust, can be higher along roadways, which can cause DNA damage to exposed organisms [1]. Hattab [11], using comet assay, detected the DNA damage in Pisun sativum root and leaf cells induced by genotoxic agents (cadmium chloride and copper chloride), and found that root cells are more sensitive to the cadmium compared with the copper, and the DNA damage in leaf cells was only significant when plants were treated with the higher cadmium concentrations. These researchers [12] have used comet assay because of the ease of sample preservation, convenient operation, and high sensitivity, low cost, and wide use. We collected samples in less polluted areas as a control
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