[Assessment of phyto- and cytotoxic effects of heavy metals and aluminum compounds using onion apical root meristem]. / Otsenka fito- i tsitotoksicheskoi aktivnosti soedinenii tiazhelykh metallov i aliuminiia s pomoshch'iu kornevoi apikal'noi meristemy luka.

The effects of different concentrations (10(-6)-10(-3) M) of salts of six metals (cadmium, lead, nickel, aluminum, copper, and zinc) on the root growth of onion (Allium cepa L.) seedling and cell division, chromosome and nucleus morphology in root tip cells were studied. The obtained results showed that tested compounds inhibit the root growth, reduce the mitotic activity of meristem cells and cause the chromosome and nucleus irregularities. On the basis of these data two rows of metal salt toxicity were proposed--for effective concentrations (EC50) of toxic action: CuSO4 > CdCl2 > NiSO4 > Pb(CH3COO)2 > Al(NO3)3 > ZnSO4, and for sublethal and lethal effects of investigated substances: CuSO4 > Pb(CH3COO)2 > CdCl2 > ZnSO4 > NiSO4 > Al(NO3)3.

[Cytogenetic effects of toxic metal salts on apical meristem cells of Allium cepa L. seed roots]. / Tsitogeneticheskie effekty solei toksichnykh metallov v kletkakh apikal'noi meristemy kornei prorostkov Allium cepa L.

Comparative analysis of the influence of the salts of Cd, Pb, Ni, Al, Cu and Zn at concentrations 10(-6)-10(-3) M on cytogenetic parameters of Allium cepa apical meristem cells was carried out. It was shown that these metal compounds could induce both the clastogenic and the aneugenic effects (including mitosis and cytokinesis disturbances). Based on ability to cause the chromosome aberrations the metal salts were arranged in such row of genotoxicity: ZnSO4 > Pb(CH3COO)2 > Al(NO3)3 approximately NiSO4 > CdCl2 > CuSO4. The investigated compounds of cadmium, lead, nickel and aluminum were found to be more effective aneugens than clastogens. According to our data NiSO4 had the strongest antimitotic activity (it increased the percentage of chromosome lagging of, multipolar anaphases, C-mitoses in 69.6 times, compared to the control). The ability of other metal salts to induce such abnormalities decreased in the range: CdCl2 > Al(NO3)3 > Pb(CH3COO)2 > CuSO4 > ZnSO4. Increasing of binuclear cells on the slides was revealed after treatment by all tested substances, however Ni sulfate was found as the strongest inducer of cytokinesis abnormalities. Presented results allowed to suggest that cytoskeleton could be a cell target for salts of some metals (especially for NiSO4).