In situ biomonitoring of the genotoxic effects of vehicular pollution in Uberlândia, Brazil, using a Tradescantia micronucleus assay

The growing number of cars in large cities is directly linked to changes in the chemical composition of urban air, which has increasingly high concentrations of potentially genotoxic chemicals. Therefore, discovering and monitoring the risks associated with exposure to atmospheric pollutants is indispensible for preventing environmental and health problems. Because of the lack of reliable data regarding the air quality in the city of Uberlândia, the present study sought to test whether the genotoxic risks in areas with different levels of vehicular traffic can be measured using the Tradescantia micronucleus assay (Trad-MN). Therefore, more than twenty inflorescences were exposed to locations with different amounts of vehicular traffic twice per year from the winter of 2006 to the summer of 2011. The inflorescences were then analysed to determine the micronucleus (MN) frequency. In addition, we sought to determine the influence of factors linked to city climate on the MN frequencies obtained at each monitored location. Our results show that, although low relative humidity positively influenced MN formation in Tradescantia pallida tetrads, the major determining factor for clastogenic events was the level of vehicular traffic at the locations monitored over the five-year study.

► Monitored air genotoxicity in areas with different levels of vehicular traffic.
► Used the Tradescantia micronucleus test to assess effects of vehicle pollution.
► Examined the influence of factors linked to city climate on MN frequencies.
► Vehicular flux has been shown to be proportional to the occurrence of micronuclei.
► Low air humidity increases the frequency of micronuclei.