The Mutagenic Potentialities of Some Herbicides Using Vicia faba as a Biological System

The present study has been carried out to investigate the mutagenic effects of three herbicides: metribuzin, chlorimuron-ethyl and brominal on mitosis, total nucleic acids (DNA and RNA) and protein banding pattern of Vicia faba. One concentration for each herbicide was applied for different treatment times: 12, 24 and 48 h. The obtained results indicate that the herbicides had the ability to cause different mitotic changes varying from reduction in mitotic index, phase distribution to the production of a large number of mitotic abnormalities. These changes appeared in varying degrees depending on the duration of treatment. The types of abnormalities produced were laggards, bridges, stickiness, C-metaphase and disturbed phases as well as micronuclei and multinucleate interphase cells. The amounts of both DNA and RNA were generally decreased with increasing the treatment time for each herbicide. At electrophoretic level, these herbicides induced alterations in the protein banding patterns of Vicia faba roots as compared with untreated samples. These alterations may be disappearance of some characteristic bands, the appearance of new bands, changes in band intensity, changes in band relative mobility or changes in some fractionation of some bands.