Abstract
Industrial activities in breweries generate large quantities of wastewater, which if not properly treated, could pollute the receiving water bodies. In this study, the Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) technique was used to assess DNA integrity in Allium cepa L. roots exposed to varying concentrations [1, 5 and 10% (v/v)] of a ?treated? effluent from a brewery plant in Benin City. DNA polymorphism was discernable by changes in the RAPD profiles as variation in the intensity, disappearance of old and appearance of new bands compared to the control. A total of 89 bands were detected and 64 (71.9%) of these fragments were polymorphic. The loss and gain of bands increased with concentration of the effluent. Physicochemical analysis of the wastewater showed that BOD, nitrates, phosphates and conductivity were present at amounts higher than limits set by national (NESREA) and international (USEPA) for effluent discharge. Data obtained from the study imply that the current treatment given to the effluent in the brewery plant is insufficient to guarantee minimal risks on genotoxic effects in living cells associated with its discharge into the environment.
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