Abstract

The present investigation was directed to study the antigenotoxic impact of vermiwash in P. sativum root meristem cells on industrial effluent mediated seed treatment with the aim to understand effects of vermiwash on reducing the percentage of structural chromosomal anomalies. For the experiment 30 physiological and morphological uniform seeds of the experimental plant system where treated for the duration of 2 hrs with 35%, 45% and 55% concentration of the effluent released from plastic and dye industries. The effluent contents many toxic elements like chlorinated solvents, nonylephenol ethoxylate, heavy metals (antimony, mercury, cadmium and lead), chlorobenzene and formaldehyde which are harmful to living beings, effecting their genetic, physiology and metabolic. Therefore, initially the frequency of karyo morphological anomalies were determined and the materials are retreated with vermiwash to evaluate its effect on chromosomes to determine its antigenotoxic impact. The root tips of treated materials were fixed in acetic alcohol for screening of mitotic aberration and MI. The decrease in MI was noted in treated material from 2.86 to 3.16 against 4.86 in control, indicating mitotic depressive activities. This impact was associated with the induction of structural chromosomal aberration from 2.33 to 7.33. The aberration scored were sticky chromosomes, fragmentation and chromosomal bridges. The frequency of sticky chromosomes was high in higher concentration of (55%) effluent. The anomalies were considered the marker of cyto and genotoxicity. The antigenotoxic strains was carries out in similar way except that the effluent treated seed sample where again subjected to the treatment of vermiwash solution for 1hrs.The distilled water was used as negative control. Then the material was subjected to the mitotic screening. The result suggested that there was a marked variation in MI compared to effluent treatment. In vermiwash treatment MI was recovered 3.90-5.90. Similarly, the frequency of chromosomal aberration also was reduced in vermiwash treated sample, it was in the rage of 1.60-3.00 against 2.3-7.3 in effluent treated samples. The result found in present work indicated recovery in the MI and chromosomal aberration in vermiwash treatment. There by suggesting that vermiwash treatment contributed to minimize the genotoxic effects caused by effluent.

Keywords: Pisum sativum; Plastic industrial effluent; Vermiwash; Anti-mutagenicity; Cytotoxicity; Chromosomal aberration