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Mutagenicity of two herbicides widely used on soybean crops by the Allium cepa test

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Abstract

This study evaluated the mutagenic effects of two herbicides: Clorimurom Nortox® and Imazaquim Ultra Nortox® widely used on soybean crops in Brazil. As a test system, Allium cepa assay was used, which analyzes the frequency of micronuclei (MN), chromosomal aberrations (CA) and the mitotic index (MI). Four concentrations of each herbicide (50, 75, 100 and 125 %) were tested in triplicate using distilled water (negative control) and methyl methanesulfonate (positive control) as controls. Three experimental repetitions were realized. Clorimurom Nortox® showed a significantly lower MI than the negative control for the concentrations of 75, 100 and 125 %, but the CA was significantly increased at all concentrations. There was no recovery for CA or MI. The 125 % concentration of Imazaquim Ultra Nortox® was cytotoxic and also exerted an effect on the other parameters. The concentration of 100 % showed a statistically increased MN and there was no recovery, while the 75 % concentration significantly affected CA, with recovery observed. The two herbicides showed mutagenic damage in Allium cepa cells, which implies a careful handling of these products, to minimize the risk of human and environmental contamination.

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Acknowledgments

Supported by Universidade Estadual do Oeste do Paraná (UNIOESTE), Fundação Araucária, Mr. Luiz Carlos Ribeiro and Herbioeste LTDA.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratório de Mutagênese, CCBS, Centro de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde, Colegiado de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Estadual do Oeste do Paraná (UNIOESTE), Universitária Street, 2069 - Jardim Universitário, Postal 00711, Cascavel, PR, 85819-110, Brazil

    Maruhen Amir Datsch Silveira, Diego Luis Ribeiro, Thayná Assakawa dos Santos, Gabriela Maciel Vieira, Carlye Nicheli Cechinato, Michele Kazanovski & Luciana Paula Grégio d’Arce

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  1. Maruhen Amir Datsch Silveira
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  2. Diego Luis Ribeiro
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  3. Thayná Assakawa dos Santos
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  4. Gabriela Maciel Vieira
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  5. Carlye Nicheli Cechinato
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  6. Michele Kazanovski
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  7. Luciana Paula Grégio d’Arce
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Correspondence to Maruhen Amir Datsch Silveira.

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Silveira, M.A.D., Ribeiro, D.L., dos Santos, T.A. et al. Mutagenicity of two herbicides widely used on soybean crops by the Allium cepa test. Cytotechnology 68, 1215–1222 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10616-015-9881-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10616-015-9881-x

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