Zeitschrift für klinische Toxikologie
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Abstrakt

Understanding of the Aluminum Cyto and Genotoxicity in Hordeum Vulgare Roots with an Emphasis on DNA Integrity and Cell Cycle using Cyto-Molecular Approaches

Jolanta Kwasniewska, Joanna Jaskowiak, Miriam Szurman-Zubrzycka, Iwona Szarejko

Aluminum (Al) is one of the most important crust elements causing reduced plant production in acidic soils. Barley is one of the cereals that are most sensitive to Al. Al in acid soils limits barley growth and development and, as a result, its productivity. Since the mechanism of Al toxicity is discussed we cytogenetically explored the genotoxic consequences of Al on the barley nuclear genome. For Al-genotoxicity testing the following parameters were analysed: mitotic activity, cell cycle profile and DNA integrity. We demonstrated the cytotoxic and genotoxic effects of Al in barley root cells. Al treatment significantly reduced the mitotic activity of the root tip cells and it also induced micronuclei and damaged nuclei. The DNA-damaging effect of Al was observed using the TUNEL test. We defined the inhibitory influence of Al on DNA replication in barley. Analysis with the labelling and detection of 5-ethynyl-2‘-deoxyuridine showed that the treatment with Al significantly decreased the frequency of S phase cells. We also demonstrated that Al exposure led to changes in the cell cycle profile of barley root tips. The delay of cell divisions observed as increased frequency of cells in G2/M phase after Al treatment was reported using flow cytometry. We demonstrated that Al-dependent DNA damage is in large part responsible for root growth inhibition following exposure to Al. An extended view of the genotoxic consequences caused by Al toxicity greatly improved our understanding of these processes.