Effectiveness of the Trad-MCN assay for the evaluation of atmospheric contaminants in Brazilian regions

Abstract

The Tradescantia pallida (Rose) D.R. Hunt var. purpurea plant has been used in several experimental models to detect morphophysiological and genetic damage due its susceptibility to atmospheric pollutants. However, among the bioassays used to evaluate the mutagenic potential of environmental contaminants, the Tradescantia-Micronucleus (Trad-MCN) bioassay is one of the most-used tests in studies of atmospheric conditions monitoring. A review of literature was therefore carried out, identifying Brazilian regions where the micronucleus bioassay in Tradescantia was used to monitor genetic alterations caused by atmospheric contamination. Reference banks were used to survey the indexed studies, such as portal Capes, Scielo, ScienceDirect and PubMed, which were investigated regarding the Brazilian biomonitored region, period, area, exposure, active or passive monitoring and natural plant or clone. The results indicated that research based on the Trad-MCN bioassay was performed in several Brazilian regions. The review verified that the majority of the studies come from the southeast region, especially from the state of São Paulo. This fact can be explained by the greater number of industries and automobiles in circulation in this state as compared to others, which can directly interfere with air quality thus arousing the interest of the scientific community. Based on this review, the Trad-MCN bioassay has been demonstrated to be effective and the Tradescantia plant has been shown to be an important biological indicator of genetic damage caused by exposure to air pollutants and is widely used in the southeastern region of the country.