&ITIn situ&IT biomonitoring of air quality in rural and urban environments of Mexico Valley through genotoxicity evaluated in wild plants

Air pollution is one the main causes of DNA damage in living organisms. Continuous exposure to the complex mixture of gases of polluted atmospheres affects health in many ways. Sentinel organisms are good biological models to assess the genotoxic damage caused by various chemicals such as atmospheric pollutants.& para;& para;In this study the plant species Taraxacum officinale and Robinsonecio gerberifolius were exposed during 2015, in the dry and rainy seasons, for 0, 2, 4 and 6 weeks to two different atmospheres of Mexico Valley, one rural in Altzomoni atmospheric observatory (ALTZ) and other urban in the atmospheric observatory of Centro de Ciencias de la Atmosfera (CCA), located in Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico (UNAM).& para;& para;Leaves of exposed plants were processed to analyze genotoxic damage by single-cell gel electrophoresis. To found any relation, the presence of pollutants in the atmosphere of both sites was analyzed with a Cavity Ring-Down Spectrometer (CRDS) and in the leaves the presence of heavy metals with an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer.& para;& para;Single-cell gel electrophoresis results showed higher damage in the leaves exposed to higher pollution in the UNAM atmospheric station in comparison to the ALTZ and controls, which was maintained in growth chambers under controlled conditions. Significant differences between rainy and dry seasons were found. Chemical analysis showed a significant increase in various heavy metals, especially in rainy season in both exposure sites. Increased DNA damage observed in both plant species at CCA station could be caused by accumulation trough six weeks. (C) 2017 Turkish National Committee for Air Pollution Research and Control. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.