Lack of mutagenic activity of crude and refined oils in the unicellular alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii.

Abstract

Over the past several years, an increasing number of studies have presented evidence for the mutagenicity and/or carcinogenic potential of petroleum-derived hydrocarbons. These most usually were obtained with individual hydrocarbons, and using either specialized bacterial strains (e.g. Ames' strains) or mammalian tissue preparations. While providing important insights into mutagenic mechanisms involving xenobiotic compounds, the relevance of these studies to the natural aquatic environment is not always evident. This applies especially to the mutagenic potential of water-soluble fractions of hydrocarbon mixtures, as in whole oils or in complex distillate fractions, and involving typical marine biota. Accordingly, the authors have examined the mutagenic potential of the water-soluble fractions of four oils (two crude oils and two refined oils) using the unicellular haploid alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii.