The detection of weak recombinogenic activities in the herbicides alachlor and propachlor using a plant-activation bioassay
Gentile, J.M.; Wagner, E.D.; Plewa, M.J.
Mutation Research 48(1): 113-116
1977
ISSN/ISBN: 0027-5107 PMID: 834196 Document Number: 112695
Log phase yeast suspensions of Saccharomyces cerevisiae were prepared and treated with an extract from Zea mays plants exposed to known concentrations of herbicide. The data indicate that extracts of plants treated with 25 ppm of either alachlor or propachlor increase the rate of gene conversion at the ade locus in strain D4 about 4-fold over control levels. When plants were treated with similar concentrations of atrazine, extracts induced gene conversion at the same locus almost 30-fold over control levels. Similar results were obtained when gene conversion was measured at the trp locus. It is suggested that the incorporation of plant-tissue extracts in standard microbial assays can enhance the detection of environmental mutagens, especially in chemicals that can be metabolized by plants.