Abstract
We measured in a comet assay the damage of DNA in the hemocytes of various stages of the grasshopper Schistocerca gregaria after ex-posing them to various doses of Cd and Pb in the food. The mechanisms of Cd and Pb toxicity for grasshopper are discussed. The accumula-tion of heavy metals and stage of the insect may play important roles in causing the DNA damage. S. gregaria may be considered a valuable bio-indicator for evaluation the genotoxicity of en-vironmental pollutants.
Highlights
Heavy metals are among the most problematic causes of water, soil and plant pollution
The alkaline version of comet assay was used to analyze the level of DNA damage in the hemocytes of S. gregaria to estimate the genotoxic effects of Cd2+ and Pb2+. 20 μL of hemolymph from the pool of 5 insects were centrifuged at 1000 rpm for 10 min
Isolated hemocytes were immediately suspended in cooled 50 μL Ringer solution and kept on ice, in darkness. 10 μL of isolated cells were mixed with 90 μL of 0.75% low melting point agarose (LMPA), and placed on a microscope slides, pre-coated with 1.5% normal melting point agarose (NMA)
Summary
Heavy metals are among the most problematic causes of water, soil and plant pollution. Cadmium and lead are widespread and dangerous heavy metals that are released into the environment from many sources Their accumulation in the soils can become dangerous to all kinds of organisms, including plants and human life, causing many genotoxic effects [7,8,9]. They are highly toxic and have been recognized as poison and a probable carcinogen [10]. The aim of the present work was to determine the genotoxic effect of cadmium and lead on the locust S. gregaria and to evaluate its potential as a biomonitor for detecting a heavy-metal polluted environment
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