Mutation in Ferns Growing in an Environment Contaminated with Polychlorinated Biphenyls

Abstract

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are ubiquitous and persistent environmental contaminants. The Housatonic River in Massachusetts is heavily contaminated with PCBs in the vicinity of the city of Pittsfield. The ostrich fern, Matteuccia struthiopteris, forms extensive populations in the flood plain of this river. The frequency of somatic mutations was determined in these fern populations as well as control populations growing in uncontaminated environments in the Connecticut River and its tributaries. The frequency of somatic mutations in the Housatonic River populations was 5.26–6.14 times the controls. Whether similar genetic damage has occurred to other inhabitants of the Housatonic environment is unknown.