Heavy Metal-Induced Oxidative DNA Damage in Earthworms : A Review

الملخص EN

Earthworms can be used as a bio-indicator of metal contamination in soil, Earlier reports claimed the bioaccumulation of heavy metals in earthworm tissues, while the metal-induced mutagenicity reared in contaminated soils for long duration.

But we examined the metal-induced mutagenicity in earthworms reared in metal containing culture beddings.

In this experiment we observed the generation of 8-oxoguanine (8-oxo-Gua) in earthworms exposed to cadmium and nickel in soil.

8-oxo-Gua is a major premutagenic form of oxidative DNA damage that induces GC-to-TA point mutations, leading to carcinogenesis.