DNA Damage in Euonymus japonicus Leaf Cells Caused by Roadside Pollution in Beijing

Tianxin Li, Minjie Zhang, Ke Gu, Uwizeyimana Herman, John Crittenden and Zhongming Lu
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Tianxin Li: School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China
Minjie Zhang: School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China
Ke Gu: School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China
Uwizeyimana Herman: School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China
John Crittenden: School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA
Zhongming Lu: School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA

IJERPH, 2016, vol. 13, issue 7, 1-12

Abstract: The inhalable particles from vehicle exhaust can cause DNA damage to exposed organisms. Research on DNA damage is primarily focused on the influence of specific pollutants on certain species or the effect of environmental pollution on human beings. To date, little research has quantitatively studied the relationship between roadside pollution and DNA damage. Based on an investigation of the roadside pollution in Beijing, Euonymus japonicus leaves of differing ages grown in heavily-polluted sections were chosen as biomonitors to detect DNA damage using the comet assay technique. The percentage of DNA in the tail and tail moment was chosen as the analysis index based on SPSS data analysis. The roadside samples showed significantly higher levels of DNA damage than non-roadside samples, which increased in older leaves, and the DNA damage to Euonymus japonicus leaf cells was positively correlated with haze-aggravated roadside pollution. The correlation between damage and the Air Quality Index (AQI) are 0.921 (one-year-old leaves), 0.894 (two-year-old leaves), and 0.878 (three-year-old leaves). Over time, the connection between DNA damage and AQI weakened, with the sensitivity coefficient for ? year 1 being larger than ? year 2 and ? year 3 . These findings support the suitability and sensitivity of the comet assay for surveying plants for an estimation of DNA damage induced by environmental genotoxic agents. This study might be applied as a preliminary quantitative method for Chinese urban air pollution damage assessment caused by environmental stress.

Keywords: comet assay; percentage of DNA in the tail; tail moment; air pollution (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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