MUTAGENIC AND GENOTOXIC ACTIVITIES OF 4 PESTICIDES - CAPTAN, FOLTAF, PHOSPHAMIDON AND FURADAN

The mutagenic and genotoxic potential of four pesticides viz. captan,f oltaf,phosphamidon and furadan was evaluated by the Ames mutagenicity assay and their DNA damaging ability on radiation repair defective E. coli K-12 strains respectively. The mutagenic spectrum revealed captan to be most mutagenic In the absence of metabolic activation, while th e presence of S9 mix led to an attenuated mutagenic response. Foltaf, phosphamidon and furadan were detected as relatively weaker mutagens. A significant decrease in the survival of SOS defective mutants, recA, lexA and pol(-) of E. coli was observed as compared to their wild-typ e counterparts in the presence of the pesticides. The role of SOS repa ir genes gains further support from the Salmonella strains triggering the error-prone SOS response.