The present experiment was undertaken to determine the mutagenic potential of lead on the cytomorphology of Trigonella foenum-graecum L. and to determine the maximum concentration of lead nitrate that induces maximum genetic variability. | S. CHOUDHARY, M. Y. K. ANSARI, Z. KHAN, H. GUPTA Turk J Biol 36 (2012) 267-273 © TÜBİTAK doi: Cytotoxic action of lead nitrate on cytomorphology of Trigonella foenum-graecum L. Sana CHOUDHARY, Mohammad Yunus Khalil ANSARI, Zeba KHAN, Honey GUPTA Cytogenetics and Mutation Breeding Laboratory, Department of Botany, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh 202 002 - INDIA Received: Abstract: The present experiment was undertaken to determine the mutagenic potential of lead on the cytomorphology of Trigonella foenum-graecum L. and to determine the maximum concentration of lead nitrate that induces maximum genetic variability. The seeds were treated with 6 different concentrations (10, 25, 50, 100, 200, and 400 ppm) of lead nitrate. The higher concentrations of lead nitrate significantly reduced plant height, number of branches per plant, pollen fertility, and yield; higher concentrations also caused variation in the plants at the seedling and mature stages. In addition, concentrations affected the pairing of homologous chromosomes and spindle formation. This resulted in laggards, bridges, fragments, multipolar orientation of chromosomes, and reduced chiasmata frequency. On the basis of these results, it was concluded that lower concentrations of metal did not significantly affect the cytomorphology of Trigonella, while higher concentrations of lead nitrate were found to be more mutagenic and cytotoxic. Key words: Cytotoxicity, Trigonella foenum-graecum, lead nitrate Introduction Heavy metals are naturally present in the environment. Lead, cadmium, and zinc are the most abundant heavy metals. It is well known that heavy metals are among the most toxic and environmentally hazardous pollutants. Industrialization and rapid urbanization have enhanced the levels of toxic heavy metals in the environment, which poses a potential health hazard for all living organisms (1). Reporting on the carcinogenic activity of heavy metals on the genetic systems
