Organophosphate pesticide (Chlorpyrifos): Environmental menace; study reveals genotoxicity on plant and animal cells

Abstract

Usage of chemicals for the protection of food grains in crop plants creates huge contamination to the environment. Chlorpyrifos is an organophosphate insecticide having potential in suppression of insects and pests and thus is a part of many commercial pesticides. From the present experimental observations, it became clear that the chlorpyrifos containing commercial pesticide is able to promote chromosomal alteration in Allium cepa root cells. This result strongly advocates that chlorpyrifos not only destroys the cell but also interacts with Deoxyribonuclei acid (DNA) and results in damage. DNA fragmentation is also exhibited during White blood cells (WBC) interaction with chlorpyrifos. The UV–visual studies of DNA-chlorpyrifos interaction confirmed hyperchromism occurs in Calf Thymus (CT)-DNA molecules. From the Circular Dichrosim (CD) analysis it became clear that change in DNA structure is caused by 0.156 mg/ml of chlorpyrifos pesticide. The structural change in DNA ultimately leads to mutation in organism. So, from the experiment it confirmed that chlorpyrifos pesticides have potentiality to cause genotoxicity among the exposed organisms.