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Geosmin induces genomic instability in the mammalian cell microplate-based comet assay

Environmental Science and Pollution Research volume 22, pages 17244–17248 (2015)Cite this article

Abstract

Geosmin (GEO) (trans-1,10-dimethyl-trans-9-decalol) is a metabolite that renders earthy and musty taste and odor to water. Data of GEO genotoxicity on mammalian cells are scarce in the literature. Thus, the present study assessed the genotoxicity of GEO on Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells in the microplate-based comet assay. The percent of tail DNA (tail intensity (TI)), tail moment (TM), and tail length (TL) were used as parameters for DNA damage assessment. The results demonstrated that concentrations of GEO of 30 and 60 μg/mL were genotoxic to CHO cells after 4- and 24-h exposure periods, in all parameters evaluated, such as TI, TM, and TL. Additionally, GEO 15 μg/mL was genotoxic in the three parameters only in the 24-h exposure time. The same was observed for GEO 7.5 μg/mL, which induced significant DNA damage observed as TI in the 24-h treatment. The results present evidence that exposure to GEO may be associated with genomic instability in mammalian cells.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul (FAPERGS), Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq).

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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  1. Genetic Toxicity Laboratory (TOXIGEN), Post-Graduation Program in Molecular and Cellular Biology Applied to Health, Lutheran University of Brazil (ULBRA), Prédio 22, 4° andar, sala 20, Avenida Farroupilha, 8001, 92425-900, Canoas, RS, Brazil

    Aline Flor Silva, Mauricio Lehmann & Rafael Rodrigues Dihl

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  1. Aline Flor Silva
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  2. Mauricio Lehmann
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  3. Rafael Rodrigues Dihl
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Correspondence to Rafael Rodrigues Dihl.

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Responsible editor: Philippe Garrigues

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Silva, A.F., Lehmann, M. & Dihl, R.R. Geosmin induces genomic instability in the mammalian cell microplate-based comet assay. Environ Sci Pollut Res 22, 17244–17248 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-015-5381-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-015-5381-y

Keywords

  • Comet assay
  • Geosmin
  • Tail intensity
  • Tail moment
  • Tail length
  • CHO cells